My Little Pony Tales Season 2
by Autobot Lancewing Beta 06
Summary: This is a continuation of My Little Pony Tales. The gang will now face more adventures as they prepare to go into the new year, and changes will come.
1. New Glasses

**New Glasses**

Miss Hackney was teaching her class as usual. Nothing seemed amiss, but Bright Eyes seems to have a little more trouble with taking notes than normal. While the entire class could see the board well, Bright Eyes' vision seems to be a little weaker than what she is accustomed to. If her leaning toward the board wasn't noticeable enough, her notes, or what she could gather from the board, were a little sloppy. Since she was seated close to the front of the room, Miss Hackney managed to take note of Bright Eyes' unusual activity.

After the clock went off at 3:00, everyone was on his or her way out. Bright Eyes was following close behind, but was stopped by Miss Hackney.

"I noticed you were having a little trouble with your notes," Miss Hackney said with a bit of concern.

"How could you tell," she said knowing the answer.

"You were squinting at the board, leaning toward it, and your notes were rushed and barely legible.

"I figured that much."

* * *

Miss Hackney wrote a sentence on the board and had Bright Eyes sit at the front row. "Mary had a little lamb," Bright Eyes read with ease.

"That's right," Miss Hackney replied, "Now I want you to go to the row behind you and read the next sentence that I'm going to write."

"Yes Miss Hackney." Bright Eyes walked to the next row while Miss Hackney wrote "How many eggs did the chicken lay?" Bright Eyes read it again accurately, but had a little more difficulty. Bright Eyes moved one more row back and tried to read the next sentence. This time Bright Eyes was really struggling to read this sentence without error. "Jail nor up the hall?" Needless to say, she failed.

"Close, but not quite. I can come up here now."

Bright Eyes walked up to Miss Hackney and saw that the sentence that she was struggling to read said, "Jill ran up the hill." Bright Eyes blushed. "I guess I need glasses."

"I think you should see an optometrist to see if there is anything that needs to be done."

"That's what I was afraid of. He's probably going to say that I need glasses."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Some of the ponies will laugh at me."

"If they do, then they'll have to answer to me. Besides, I don't think you'll have to go through this alone." That was in fact true; her friends would be around to help her through it, even when Ace and Teddy act up. And then there's Lancer, the one boy who serves as the peacemaker between the two groups. Surely he'd understand what's going on, right?

* * *

"A what," Clover asked. Bright Eyes finished explaining her conversation with Miss Hackney to her friends at the Ice Cream Shoppe.

"An optometrist," Bright Eyes repeated, "It's basically a doctor that specializes in helping ponies with their eyes. In other words, I need glasses."

"So you have to wear what Miss Hackney's wearing all the time," Melody asked.

"Well, not the exact frame, but yes. Besides, I heard there were plenty of options."

"But won't it feel weird," Bon Bon asked.

"Yes, and I am a little nervous about that. I'm just more worried about how the boys would react."

As if on cue, Lancer, of all ponies, starts walking to them.

"Speaking of," Starlight said to Bright Eyes.

"Okay, Teddy and Ace in particular, but I'm still not sure Lancer will react."

"React to what," Lancer asked once he's within hearing range.

Bright Eyes practically jumped out of her skin. "L- Lancer," she said as she turned, "I- Um… I was talking with my friends about… Something that might change my look."

"But you already look good the way you are now. Why change it?"

It was Clover's turn, "Yes, but she could- Um… Look even better and even… uh… what's the word I'm looking for… Smarter?"

Bright Eyes snapped, "Hey!"

"Oh...sorry."

"Why would you want to look smarter? You already look smart the way you are," Lancer pointed out.

Bright Eyes felt her cheeks grow hot red. "Well… It's personal."

"O-oh, okay, I won't bug you about it. But...I still think your beautiful-err...looking nice..."

"Uh...thanks..."

Lancer smiled sheepishly, and left with Ace and Teddy.

Bright Eyes glared again at Clover. Clover looked back at Bright Eyes. "What?"

* * *

The following day, Bright Eyes just finished her eye exam. And now she was riding with Circuit, her dad, back home. "Do I have to go home," Bright Eyes moaned.

"Sorry Bright Eyes, but you can't do anything half blind."

Bright Eyes slumped in her seat. She was only nearsighted until her eyes were dilated. Now her eyes are sensitive to any light in the area, which explains why she's wearing paper shades.

"I know it's hard, but you're just going to have to be patient. It'll pay off."

"And what if I chose the wrong frame and the others laugh at me for it?"

"Then they might need to take a good look at themselves, believe me, I've gone through the same thing when I got braces."

"Braces? You never told me that."

"That's because I wanted to wait until we have this moment before I tell you."

"Ah. So did any of your friends laugh?"

"Well, some ponies did, but my friends… They didn't even snicker."

This made Bright Eyes Think, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad. But what Lancer had said earlier did leave her concerned, what if he didn't find her pretty anymore? And she knew she couldn't tell her dad, who knows how he'd react to her little crush.

* * *

Bright Eyes took off the paper shades, but immediately put them back on. Her eyes were almost back to normal, but not quite. She laid down in her bed. Almost immediately, the phone rang. "I got it," Circuit said as he walked over and picked up the phone. "Hello? Oh hi Bon Bon! Oh, I'm sorry but Bright Eyes isn't doing so well, so she can't make it to the Ice Cream shop today. No, she's not sick, but I can't let her out of here until her glasses are ready. Yes, you may talk with her." Circuit brought over the wireless phone and gave it to Bright Eyes. "Bon Bon wants to speak with you."

"Thanks Dad." Bright Eyes took the phone. "Hello."

"Hey Bright Eyes," Bon Bon said through the phone. "What did the doctor say?"

"Well, I'm nearsighted in one eye, but farsighted in the other."

"Oh, that stinks. When will you get to come out among the living?"

"As soon as my glasses are finished."

"And when will that be?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Whew! I'm not sure we'll make it that long."

"You'll manage."

"Well, maybe, but Lancer won't."

"Ha ha."

"I'm serious, he's really worried."

"Oh. Well, I guess I should call him once I hang up with you."

"Good idea. I have to go, but I'll try to stop by tomorrow."

"Thanks, that means a lot."

"Anything for a friend. See ya later."

"Bye." Bright Eyes hung up the phone and dialed another number. She returned the phone to its position on her ear. After about a few seconds…

"Hello," a familiar voice said.

"Hey Lancer. I heard you were a little worried."

"Well, you didn't show up for class."

"Yeah. I had a doctor's appointment."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just needed to have something looked at."

"Oh. Is that what you were talking about yesterday?"

"Yes…"

"Hm… Change your look… A visit with the doctor… You need glasses, don't you?"

"How do you know I don't need braces? Or a cast?"

"Clover said that this one thing would 'make you look smarter'."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Her words; not mine. But I… Geez, I'm walking into dangerous territory here."

"You bet you are."

"But at least you'll stop squinting at the board."

"Am I really that obvious?"

"Pretty much."

"Gee, that's nice to hear."

"Maybe we should change the subject before we dig a deeper hole."

"Yeah…"

"Have you found a pair you like?"

"I did actually, but I don't know what you or the others will think."

"Come on, how bad could they be?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Okay… When will we see you again?"

"Unless you come over here, you'd have to wait until after tomorrow. That's when I get my glasses."

"Well, I guess I'll have to come over."

"Oh. Um… Okay..." Bright Eyes blushed furiously.

"Okay then. I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay, see you then."

Bright Eyes hung up the phone and started to return it to its holster before it rings again. She rolled her eyes. 'This is going to be a long day.'

* * *

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, bye Melody." Bright Eyes hung up the phone for the umpteenth time today and collapsed on the bed. "Please tell me that's everyone?"

There was a knock at the door.

Bright Eyes groaned, "Come in."

The door opened. "Oh hey there Lancer," Circuit said.

"Uh...hi, hope you don't mind I came over..."

"It's perfectly fine."

"Hey, Lancer, how's it going?" Bright Eyes asked.

"Good actually. And yourself?"

"Tired. Just got done with answering some calls, or at least I think I'm done."

"You think? How many calls did you get?"

"About eight."

"Wow...sorry I called."

"It's fine, and I really appreciate your coming over, it means a lot."

"Oh...yeah..."

Circuit finally spoke up. "Why don't you take a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

"Um...thank you sir."

"Don't mention it. So, I assume you've heard."

"About her glasses? Yes sir."

"Who told you?"

"I actually figured it out on my own, but Bright Eyes did confirm that."

"Oh, how'd you figure it out?"

"Well, she was squinting at the board, she and her friends mentioned something about changing her look, and there was her doctor's appointment. Add those clues together, and that's what comes to my mind."

"I see...you're a smart kid."

"Now you sound like my mom. And in an odd sense, my butler."

"Uh...okay..."

"Sorry if that creeped you out."

"Uh...it's fine..."

"Okay…"

"Well...I need to run some errands, so I guess I'll see you later."

"Um… Uh… Okay…"

Circuit grinned and left the little ponies alone.

"Did he plan for this to happen?"

"I...hope not."

"Yeah… But that grin didn't reassure me… So, should we do something?"

"Um...I guess…"

Lancer walked over and took the remote off the television. He brought it back and flipped the TV on. "Can you see anything?"

"I can, but just barely."

"Oh...Hmm…"

"It's okay, I can just listen to it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright…"

They both sat there and watched the television in awkward silence. Bright Eyes felt her face grow hot again, she had never been this close to Lancer before, and she was alone with him.

Lancer was beginning to feel that same way. And the way Bright Eyes' dad made him feel…

What seemed like hours went by before Lancer's foreleg slowly went up and wrapped around the back of Bright Eyes's neck. Bright Eye didn't react, and Lancer was unaware of what he was doing. Also unaware, Bright Eyes scooted towards Lancer.

Bright Eyes began to wonder, if maybe she should confess how she felt about Lancer. But what if he said no? What if he never talked to her again? What if-

"Bright Eyes? I'm home!" Circuit announced.

"Still in the same place, Dad." Bright Eyes called out.

"Okay." Circuit rounded the corner when he suddenly saw the two in the position they were in. His eyes were almost as wide as chihuahua heads and his jaw almost hit the ground. "Wha- What in the world…"

"What is it?" They both turned to look at him, only to find out what he was talking about. Bright Eyes immediately scooted away from Lancer while Lancer removed his foreleg. "What just happened?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Lancer replied. Both of them stood there in shock.

* * *

About two days later, Bright Eyes was finally putting her glasses on for the first time.

"How does it feel?" the optometrist asked.

"It feels...good, I can see everything."

"That's good."

She looked at the mirror. She could see those orange, rounded, square frames resting over her eyes. "Wow, these do make me look smarter."

"What gave you that idea," Circuit asked.

"Clover after a slip of the tongue."

Circuit "Hmm"-ed. "Well, are you ready to go?"

"Oh yeah."

Circuit and Bright Eyes walked out of the office. "So are you feeling better?"

"Much now that I can return to school."

Circuit chuckled, "You don't like hanging out with me?"

"I do, I'm just starving for information. If I go one more school day without hearing Miss Hackney..."

Circuit chuckled, "So I guess I can't convince you to stay at home for a little bit longer?"

"No way."

Circuit sighed, "Can't blame me for trying."

"I know, but I'll come back eventually."

"Are you sure you don't want to be homeschooled?"

"No."

"Well!" Circuit faked a huff.

"It's nothing personal Dad, I…"

"I'm joking, sweetie, I'm not sure I'd be a good teacher, anyway."

"Plus you've got your job with the paper."

"Again, true."

"Are you sure you don't want someone else around?"

"I suppose I get a little lonely, but I always love coming home and seeing your beautiful face."

"Aw… And now you have glasses to add to that face."

"Well, I just get to see your beautiful eyes magnified."

"Yeah."

"Hey Bright Eyes!"

Bright Eyes looked over to see her friends waiting for her. "Hi guys."

The all walked up to her. The first thing they notice was her glasses. "Wow, they look amazing, Bright Eyes," Bon Bon exclaimed.

"Y-you really think so?"

"Yeah! You look great!" Patch concurred.

"I really truly thinks so, too." Sweetheart agreed.

"Thank you," Bright Eyes blushed.

"So are they comfy?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, and I can see everything much better."

"That's good," Clover smiled.

"I know. How do you think the boys will take it?"

"Well...why don't we find out," Starlight suggested.

"Um...I guess we can...Is that okay, Dad?"

"Sure, but remember what we talked about."

"I will, dad."


	2. Lancer

**Lancer**

Lancer walked into the mansion. He was still sweating from soccer practice. He rounded the corner started to pass the corner until he saw something out the corner of his eye. He backed up and took another look. "Mom? Dad?"

"Hello, Lancer," Lancer's mom greeted, before pulling him into a huging him into a hug, "Sorry we're a little late. Had a last-minute meeting to attend."

"Uh, it-it's fine, I just can't believe you're here."

"You better believe it," his father remarked.

Heartbeat was white with red hair. Her cutie mark was a crystal heart. Second to her husband, she has a deep love for her one child, but is often pulled away from him because of hers and Hard Drive's work. She hopes that they could one day spend time together as a real family. She works as a fashion designer.

Hard Drive was a blue pony with light blue hair with small white streaks. His cutie mark is a circuit board. Ever since he was twelve, Hard Drive was a genius when it came to computers. Like Heart Beat, he also has a busy schedule, but he seems to enjoy his work a little more than Heart Beat.

Heartbeat accidentally caught the smell of Lancer's sweat. "I take it you just came back from soccer practice."

"Oh, yeah," Lancer said as he pulled away. "I was on my way to take a shower."

"That's probably a good idea, and maybe when you're done I can make supper?" Heartbeat offered.

"That sounds good. You have no idea how much I missed you both."

A tear formed in Heartbeat's eye, "We've missed you, too."

With that, Lancer walked away. Hard Drive noticed a scrape near Lancer's knee. "What happened to your knee?"

Lancer stopped and looked. "Oh, I didn't even notice that. Must have been from when I tripped. Nothing a bandage can't fix."

"Soccer practice?"

"No, marbles on the sidewalk. Wasn't pretty."

"Oh, my goodness, do you need to be patched up?"

"Need to be cleaned first," he said wih a chuckle, "but like I said, nothing a bandage can't fix."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Heartbeat sighed in defeat, "Okay. I love you."

"I love you too." He darted off toward the bathroom.

Heartbeat glanced at her husband. "Who does he remind me of?"

"Um...my dad?"

"He reminds me of you, but he has my shyness from when I was his age."

"Well, he is OUR son, and that's usually how it works."

"Yeah, but if only we could see him more often..."

"You know that our schedules won't let us. Besides, he's doing alright."

"I know but... I just feel like he'll self-destruct if we keep this up."

"Come on, everything is practically handed to him and he's well-behaved. What could possibly go wrong?"

"He doesn't have our love."

"What? You and I both know we love him, he means the world to me."

"But does he know that?"

There was an awkward silence between the two.

* * *

Lancer just got out of the shower. He just applied medicine to his injured knee and was about to wrap the bandage around it when the phone rang. He quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey there Lancer."

"Hey Starlight. How are you?"

"Good actually. Ace said that my passes are getting better."

"Is that so?" He ties the bandage around his knee a little too tightly. "AH!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just nursing my knee. Pulled on the bandage too tightly."

"Oh, what happened?"

"Slipped on some marbles on the sidewalk."

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. I'll live. Besides... My parents are home."

"They are?"

"Yep, my mom's even making supper, I can't remember the last time I ate something she made."

"I don't even remember seeing your parents."

"That's because they've been busy with their work. They never find time to stay home."

"I see, I'm glad they're here now, though that may complicate things..."

"Like what?"

"Well, it's just we thought you might want to see Bright Eyes' new glasses, but since your parents are visiting and you don't see em that often, maybe some other time'll work."

"Yeah... Hey, maybe they should meet you guys."

"Do you think they'd be okay with that?"

"They need to meet you sooner or later."

"I guess you're right."

"Besides, I'm sure they'll love you guys, especially you, Sweetheart, Bright Eyes, Bon Bon, Bright Eyes-"

"Wait, didn't you already say Bright Eyes?"

"Uh...Did I?" Lancer began feeling warm.

"Yup...Is there another Bright Eyes or something?"

"No, not that I know of. Must have just been from the excitement."

"Okay…"

"Yeah… Listen, I have to go now. Mom cooked supper and I REALLY miss her cooking."

"Oh, I understand, see you later."

"Bye," Lancer put the phone back in it's holder and returned to wrapping his wound.

* * *

Lancer, Hard Drive, and Heartbeat were eating dinner at the table. Lancer wasn't able to say anything, still amazed his parents were at home EATING with him. If only it could happen more often. Then, something occurred to him, "So...When do you need to go again?"

"Well, we can only stay for a week. After that, we need to be leaving again."

"Oh, okay."

Heartbeat bit her lip, she really hated doing this to Lancer. She wished she could do something. "BUT we could try meeting your friends."

"Oh, yeah, I'll have to ask them over sometime."

"Okay. I would especially like to meet with this Bright Eyes you keep mentioning."

"Oh...I talk about her a lot?"

"Oh yeah," Hard Drive remarked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you like her."

Lancer's cheeks turned red, "N-no, I just...really hit it off with her."

"I see…"

"Y-yeah… We do have a lot in common."

"Hmm...I see," Hard drive had a mischievous grin on his face.

Lancer could see it on his face. "Dad, I know that look. Please don't do it. Teddy and Ace had that look when they had an idea to get me and Bright Eyes paired for a roller skate dance contest. It didn't end well."

"I see… so you're just friends, huh?"

"Uh-huh, just friends…"

"Well, that's nice," Heartbeat grinned.

Lancer took another bite, but soon pulled a hair out of his mouth. "That was random."

"What was?"

"I almost swallowed a hair."

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie, was it one of mine?"

He looked at it carefully and sighed. "It was."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I don't know how that happened."

"It's okay, Mom. I had a good meal, despite the hair."

"Thanks," Heartbeat smiled.

"No problem."

Lancer took his plate and went to the kitchen and put his plate in the dishwasher. After that, he walked back to his room and started on his homework. Suddenly, the phone rang. Lancer rushed over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hi, Lancer." Bright Eyes greeted.

"Hey Bright Eyes. What's up?"

"Um...I was thinking...about you."

"Y-You were?"

"Um...yeah. How are you?"

"Excited actually. My parents are home."

"That's good."

"But only for a week."

"Oh, that's not so good."

"Yeah, but at least they're here, it's been forever."

"Y-yeah…"

"So how are you?"

"Good actually. I'm about to watch a movie with my dad."

"Neat! What movie?"

"A documentary on stress."

Lancer chuckled. "Something we all need to manage."

"Yeah…"

"So...did you get your homework done?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Lancer regretted it, kids don't ask kids about homework.

"Of course I did," Bright Eyes said, "Why would you ask that?"

"I...I dunno, I was gonna start, but then you called and, I…"

"Oh. Okay. Do you need help with anything?"

"I was just about to start. Why?"

"I was just asking."

"Oh...Um...Maybe, but I wouldn't mind some company. Company my own age, I mean."

"Uh, sure, I'll be over in fifteen minutes."

"O-okay, see you then."

"Okay… Bye…"

Lancer hung up and returned to phone to the receiver. An odd sense of excitement came over him, one he had never felt before. Why? He's known her for years. Surely he'd feel the same, right? Just cuz she knew his feelings about her didn't mean anything, right?

Yeah...Right.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Lancer bolted to the door, but Heartbeat opened it. It was Bright Eyes. "Can I help you?"

"Um...hello...I came by to see Lancer, is he here?"

"Yes… but who are you?"

"Oh, my name's Bright Eyes. I'm a friend of his."

"Oh...Bright Eyes. Lancer's told us so much about you."

"Mom," Lancer moaned as he walked up. "Hey Bright Eyes."

"Uh...Hi Lancer… Do you still have that homework?"

"Yeah, fifteen minutes only gets me done with half of a subject."

"Okay. Which subject?"

"History."

"Ah. I hear you. Takes longer than math."

"Yeah, but still a fun subject, but not as fun as literature."

"Oh I'd disagree; science is the best."

"Well, I guess I'll leave you two to it." Heartbeat grinned, "Would you like a snack?"

"No, it's alright," Bright Eyes answered, "I couldn't."

"Well, alright, but if you need anything, let me know."

"Okay, thank you, ma'am." Bright Eyes grinned. She turned to Lancer. "So history?"

"Yeah. Let's get started before something happens."

"Yeah… Let's…" They walked over to the dining room table and began working.

* * *

In the living room, Hard Drive and Heartbeat were talking.

"We're seriously missing out on Lancer's life. I mean, we come home and now he has a girlfriend," Heartbeat said.

"I thought they were just friends," Hard Drive replied.

"Oh come off of it, it's obvious on his face."

"Well… I guess...but I thought boys thought girls had cooties at his age?"

"This is Lancer we're talking about. He's not like the other boys."

"I suppose...but I'm not sure why it's necessarily a bad thing."

"I think we need to give him 'the talk' if someone never gave it to him already."

"Maybe one of the servants explained it to him?"

"I doubt it..."

"I hope so, I'm not sure I want to give it to him," he chuckled.

"This is serious; he's growing up!"

"Alright, alright. Can't wait until his mood changes when he gets there."

Heartbeat glared at Hard Drive.

"Sorry..."

* * *

"Bright Eyes, could I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"How do you cope with only one parent with you all the time while both of mine are constantly away?

"Oh. That. Well, my mother died of cancer when I was six years old, but he wasn't at home all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he'd have long shifts with the paper once every two weeks. I know how you feel."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Just something I never mentioned."

"Alright... So how did you cope?"

"Well, sometimes it isn't easy, but I just try and think of what how much worse it could be."

"Oh... But how could it be worse?"

"I could lose him too."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. It could always be worse, but my dad means the world to me."

"Yeah, and I guess I couldn't even have my parents at all..."

"Yeah. I do remember this truth: You don't know what you have until you don't have it anymore. You and I both know that personally."

"Yeah."

"Why don't you talk with them when you get the chance; let them know how you feel."

"I-I don't know… I mean what if-"

Lancer's parents were about to enter from behind when Bright Eyes suddenly took Lancer's hoof. They stopped in their tracks when they heard Bright Eyes say, "Please? You can't keep hiding it from them."

"I-I know, but I'm worried it'll upset them."

"I'm sure they'll understand if it does. Just don't be too harsh on them."

"Alright. I'll tell them."

"Thank you, would you like me to do it with you?"

"No, I-" Lancer looked out of the corner of his eye and jumped. "Whoa! Didn't see you there." He instantly saw the awkward looks on their faces. For the first time ever, he wished his parents weren't around. "Um… Question: How long have you been standing there?"

"Right after you started holding hooves and Bright Eyes said 'Please? You can't keep hiding this from them'," Heartbeat said.

"And doing it with her? What is she talking about," Hard Drive asked.

"U-Umm… Well…"

"He was talking about how you two are away too often," Bright Eyes said.

"Wait, that was it," Heartbeat asked.

"Yeah," Lancer said, "What did you think we were talking about?"

The two parents looked at each other, then Lancer. "That's for another conversation."

"You mean 'the talk'," Lancer asked, "Bright Eyes's dad already filled me in after my foreleg found its way around Bright Eyes without my knowing… It was pretty awkward for all of us."

"Oh. But as far as being away a lot… Well…"

"You're going to be upset, I know it. I'm sorry I brought that up."

"No, actually we feel the same way."

"Wait, what?"

* * *

After what seemed like an hour, everything that Lancer and his parents was feeling were brought to the table. Bright Eyes was writing all of the words that were said down and carefully analyzing them, in order to come up with a solution that would work for the family.

"Okay, so let me see if I got this right: Lancer, you barely see your parents, right," Bright Eyes asked.

"Yes."

Her attention was then turned to the parents. "And you two want to spend time with him, but you have busy work schedules, correct?"

"Yes," They both said.

"Okay, could any of those hours be reduced when possible?"

"Well, we do need to make money in order to support Lancer," Heartbeat said.

"Trust me, I think he's good, but I think your ultimate form of support is just being there."

"I guess," Hard Drive confessed, "Its just we want the absolute best for Lancer."

"And I do thank you for that," Lancer said, "but to me, it all means nothing if you aren't around."

"I see," Heartbeat said, "Well, I guess I could start coming every weekend at least. It's a start until I can get something figured out."

"R-really?"

"Of course, you mean the world to me, Lancer, if I didn't have you in my life..."

"That's what I said about my dad," Bright Eyes said, "He actually played the role of both mother and father after my mom passed away four years ago. I don't care what hero they come up with, there's no greater hero than him."

"That's really sweet," Heartbeat smiled.

"Mm..." Was all Hard Drive could say.

"Is something wrong?" Lancer asked.

"No...not really, just feeling...inadequate, I guess."

"Why?"

"Well, You go on and on about how great your father is and my son's not doing the same."

"That's because you aren't really there for him. Trust me, you'll have him talking if you spend more time with him."

"Hm… Maybe I could work something out."

"That's more like it." Bright Eyes looked at her watch. "Well, I better get home before my dad gets worried."

"Okay, and thank you for helping us through this," Heartbeat said.

"Anything for a friend."

"Be careful."

"I will." With that, Bright Eyes was out the door.

"I better head to bed. Good night," Lancer said. He started to head to his room, but before he could even leave the room…

"Lancer?"

He stopped and turned around. "Yes Mom?"

"Do you think it would be possible if you slept with us?"

Lancer gave it some thought. It did seem a little odd since he was six years old when he last went to bed with them, but since they were able to fix this bond that was bruised since then, he figured, 'Why not?' "I think that would be very much possible.

And with that, all three ponies walked into the bedroom. For the first time in years, they truly felt like they were a family.


	3. Star-Crossed Part 1

**Star-Crossed Part 1**

The Rockin' Beats were rehearsing in Melody's garage. Another Battle of the Bands was happening this week and they needed to prepare to defend their title, not to mention Melody had to find a babysitter for the twins. They were right now in the middle of one of their songs, before Melody's mom walked in.

"Melody, can I talk with you in private?"

"Um... Sure." Melody turned to the girls, "Take five guys; I'll be right back."

"Okay Mel," Tuneful said.

Melody followed her mother into tho kitchen. "So what's up?"

"Have you found a babysitter for the twins yet?"

"I actually have someone in mind, but I haven't called her yet."

"You might want to go ahead and do that. Remember what happened last time?"

"Yup! We won!"

"But where were the twins?"

"Under my protection."

"And you were..."

"At Battle of the Bands, BUT you didn't say where they needed to be..."

"Melody, it was lucky that the twins made it home okay, but I will not risk a repeat of that. Call the sitter right now."

"Fine..." Melody picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello," a voice said on the other end.

"Hey Sweetheart, it's Melody. Hey would you mind watching Jing-A-Ling and Ting-A-Ling while I'm at the battle of the bands?"

"Oh, I really, truly would, but I'm already going to be babysitting my sisters on that night."

"Oh... Um... Okay. Thank you anyway. Bye." Melody hung up. "There goes my first choice."

Next up: Bright Eyes.

Melody dialed the number.

"Hello."

"Hey Bright Eyes, I was wondering if you could baby sit Jing-A-Ling and Ting-A-Ling while I'm at Battle of the Bands."

"I think I can make it."

"You can?"

"Yes, I don't have anything planned that night, but go ahead and have someone else prepared just in case just in case something comes up."

"Uh… Yeah! Sure! Thanks, Bright Eyes!"

"No problem."

"See ya later." Melody hung up. "Well, that does that."

"See? Wasn't it a good thing that you called?"

"Yeah. Anyway, gotta run. the band's waiting on me."

"Okay, but remember to call someone just in case."

"Okay." With that Melody darted into the garage. "Okay band. Ready to to take it from the top?"

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

They were about to start when they started hearing music. "Hey. Who's doin' that?" Melody asked.

"It's that other band," Half-Note answered. "Mythic Rock I think it was…"

"Well, it's no Cleveland Bays, but it sounds pretty good."

"Well, if they compete in Battle of the Bands, we're toast."

"Which is why we need to practice harder. Come on."

The band started to play, but their competitors were starting to play a little too loudly.

"Okay, new plan. I'll march over there and give them a piece of my mind," Melody said.

"Good idea, I'll go, too," Tuneful said.

"No, I'll do it myself. You just look through the music and we'll rehearse when we get back."

"Okay."

Melody walked out of the garage and walked next door. She saw a group of boys playing in their garage. 'Figures...' She walked into the garage. "Hey! Excuse me!"

The band stopped playing. "Hey! Who are you," The drummer asked, "We're rehearsing here!"

"Well, so was my band when you drowned us out!"

"We'll where do you suggest we rehearse?"

"I hear Antarctica is lovely."

"Oh sure… If you like being frozen to death."

"But at least there's no one to disturb."

"Look, Battle of the Bands just days away and we need to practice," the guitarist said.

"Oh really? Well we're competing too, and we need all the practice we can get."

"Well we we're here first."

"No, we were."

"Alright, that's enough," the lead singer said. Everyone looked at him. He was yellow with a white mane. His cutie mark was a microphone over a set of musical notes.

Melody could hardly contain herself. In her eyes, he actually looked pretty handsome. She had never seen a guy that looked as good as he did. 'Wow… Not bad for a boy…'

Said boy looked in Melody's direction, "Sorry bout that, they're kinda territorial."

"Uh...yeah...it's fine. We'll just wait for a bit. We've got homework to do anyway."

"Are you sure? I'm sure they wouldn't mind waiting a bit."

"Not at all. Whatever I say in this band… goes."

"Um… Okay… Thank you…"

"It's nothing. Now get out of my garage so you can rehearse." The boy smiled.

"Okay," Melody was unaware that she was blushing...a lot.

"Sure, see ya later."

"Yeah...Bye…" And with that Melody turned to leave, but… "What's your name?"

"Resonance."

* * *

The days went by and between the classes and the band rehearsal, Melody, lead singer of the Rockin' Beats, was off beat. She couldn't stop thinking of Resonance. She hadn't told anyone about it; if someone found out, it would not end well. She might get kicked out of her own band! However, that was about to be the least of her worries. The phone suddenly rang.

Melody quickly snatched it up, "Hello?"

"Hey Melody, it turns out that I won't be able to babysit."

"WHAT?!" What happened?!"

"I'm grounded."

"Wait… You're kidding, right? I mean, you of all ponies grounded? Is the world ending or something?"

"No, I was studying with Lancer, and I missed curfew. I won't be leaving my house for two days."

"But the Battle of the bands is tomo- wait, just two days?"

"Well, I was STUDYING with Lancer…"

"Bright Eyes, I hope you're not on the phone in there," Circuit said from another room.

"Hold on a minute, Melody."

Melody proceeded to freak out, 'What do I do now?! No one will be available on this short notice!' Melody remembered the last time she tried to hire someone at the last minute, but failed. 'Maybe Bon Bon's not grounded this time?'

Forgetting about Bright Eyes, she quickly dialed Bon Bon's number. Eventually her friend picked up, "Hello?"

"Hey Bon Bon, um...can you watch the twins for me tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Melody, I can't, my dad's taking me to this fancy restaurant tomorrow for getting an A in History."

Melody's eye twitched, she couldn't say a thing.

"You alright?"

"Um… Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You aren't saying anything, which is weird for you."

"Yeah… You get rewarded for an A while Bright Eyes is grounded for missing curfew…"

"Wow...that's really, truly weird."

Melody twitched again. For a moment, she thought she heard Sweetheart. "Maybe I'm just having a bad day…"

"I'm kidding, Mel."

"About the A?"

"No, the 'really, truly' part. I've really got Sweetheart's voice down."

"Ugh! Is anyone available?!"

"I really, truly-"

"KNOCK IT OFF!"

"Okay! Okay! Chill!"

"Sorry, I just need to balance finding a sitter, my schoolwork, and band practice while hiding my feelings about the lead singer of a band we're competing against!" At that moment, Melody knew she said too much…

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"I… have a crush on the competition."

"Really!?"

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone, especially not the Rockin' Beats. They'll kick me out of the band, and I'm the one who started it."

"Yeah… That is odd… Anyway, your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

* * *

Melody tried every single number she could think of, yet nothing. She sat on the couch and groaned in frustration. 'Great… Now what?'

Soon, Melody's mother walked in. "Is something wrong Melody?"

"Yes, Bright Eyes is grounded and all of my back-ups are not available. Now what am I going to do?"

"Well, you could always stay home."

"No, I can't. They need me. If only I knew more people…" Then a light bulb went on in Melody's head. "I have an idea. I'll be back soon!" With that, Melody rushed to the door, but she was met by the Rockin' Beats.

"Hey Mel," Tuneful said.

"H-Hey girls. What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you forget, today's our final day to rehearse before Battle of the Bands."

"Oh yeah… Listen, I have to take care of a little errand, but I'll be ri-"

"Hold it there Melody," Pretty Beat said, "You running an errand? What are you hiding?"

Melody froze, "My mom wants me to pick up some eggs...that's it, no compromising secret."

"Sounds like you're keeping a secret to me," Sweet Note remarked.

"Fine… My babysitter cancelled on me, but I think I can find another one."

"Again?! Really Melody?"

"BUT I can fix it this time. Just bear with me."

"You better, Mel."

"I'll be next door to see if our neighbor knows anyone. Just stay here and I'll be right back."

"Wait, that's where the competing band is. What's going on here," Half Note asked.

"...Nothing..."

"I don't believe you."

"Honest."

"Still don't believe you..."

"Just stay here and I'll be right back." Before the band could say anything, she took off.

* * *

Melody knocked at the door. After a moment of silence, the door opened to reveal... Resonance. "Hey. My band's not playing and you already showed up."

"Kinda weird how that worked out... Do you know anyone who can babysit?"

"Babysit? Um..."

"Come on, you're my last hope right now."

"Well... I could make some calls..."

Melody suddenly hugged him. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"

"Heh, it's no problem..."

"AHA!"

Both ponies turned to see Tuneful.

"I knew something was up!"

"Tuneful, it's not what it looks like!"

"That's what they all say..." She sneered, "So how long have you two been an item?"

"An item," the boy asked, "Look, she came here asking about a babysitter. That's it."

"Sure...nice excuse."

"And what if I DID have feelings for him? Why should it matter?"

"He's competition. He's off limits!"

"So you'd keep us apart just because I like him?"

"If that's what takes! You can't have two different bands under the same roof. You know how harmful it would be to-"

"Wait a minute, what did you just say?"

"It would be harmful to- then you interrupted me."

"No, before that. Something about two bands?"

"That you can't have them under the same roof."

Melody and Resonance looked at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Resonance smirked, "Oh yeah… You get your band, I'll get mine, and we'll plan it out from there.

"Right." Melody darted past Tuneful.

"What just happened," Tuneful asked before being dragged into the house by Melody.

"I was just asking if he could find someone to watch the twins…"

"Really? If I helped you out would you hug me?"

"I was desperate, okay!"

"Desperate for a boyfriend?"

"No!"

"Well, those boys are OFF LIMITS, kay?"

Melody sighed, "Fine, if that's what you think, then have fun at the Battle of the Bands without me."

"Good, now-" Tuneful's eyes widened, "WHAT?!"

"Yup, if you guys are going to have a problem with me liking a boy just cuz he's in another band, then I'm out."

"Mel, you can't be serious."

"I was trying to get a sitter, and if I don't, then I'm gonna have to stay home anyway. It could have worked, but no... You had to mess it up just because of the band, and this time, I won't be bailing you out!"

"Mel, this is ridiculous, it's just a boy."

"No, you are telling me how to live my life, and guess what, you're not my mom."

"But-c'mon, aren't we more important?"

"Right now, the twins are more important."

Tuneful sighed in defeat, "You really won't come?"

"Nope."

Tuneful bit her lip, "Okay...see you at school next week."

"Yeah...See ya then, good luck tonight, by the way."

"Thanks, without you, we'll need it."

* * *

Melody sat at home with the twins. Tonight was the night of the Battle of the Bands, and this time, Melody was sitting this one out. Jing-A-Ling tugged on Melody's leg, "Mewody? Why awen't you wit the Wockin' Beats?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going this time."

"Why not?"

"Because they were being mean to me."

"Aww… I'm sowwy Mewody," Jing-A-Ling gave Melody a big hug.

"It's okay. If I couldn't find someone to babysit you, then I would have had to stay home anyway, and this time there would be no loopholes."

"What's a loophole?"

"It's… You know what, maybe you should know when you're older."

"Oh...okay, Mewody."

"Yeah, so where'd your sister run off to?"

"Oh, she id talking to da cute boy at the door."

"Wait, what boy?"

"Da one at da door, I just told you dat!"

Melody rushed toward the door. "Ting-A-Ling, I thought Mom told you not to talk to-" She immediately recognized who it was. "Resonance? What are you doing here?"

"Band kicked me out. They said that I shouldn't be hanging around the competition."

"That's what my band said."

"Yeah, crazy huh? I told them it's none of their business if I happen to like a girl from another band because my band life shouldn't affect my personal life."

"Really? You like me?"

Resonance froze, "Oh...did I just say say that out loud?"

"You did."

"Oh...sorry, I have a problem with keeping secrets like my dad."

"Well...I'm glad you do."

"Oh?"

"Yeah...cuz I like you, too."

"Well that's good. So… I've got twins that can be quite a handful. Would you like to help me watch them?

"Sure, but on one condition."

"What?"

"Buy the ice cream sundaes tomorrow on our first date?"

Melody giggled before saying, "Deal."

* * *

After an awful display from both Rockin' Beats and Mythic Rock, Dazzle crowned a completely different band as the winner. Both bands walked back to their leaders embarrassed. Resonance left to talk with his band while Melody was left to deal with hers.

"Well, it could have been worse," Melody remarked.

"Yeah, but you still didn't show up," Half Note said.

"Hey don't blame me. It's not my fault my first choice was grounded, besides, I would have had to stay home if I couldn't find a babysitter, so it could have been prevented had you let me follow through with what I was planning..."

"Are you sure you couldn't bring the twins with you?"

"After what happened last time, I'm sure."

"Well, I think you're right," Sweet Note said, "You're not the only one to blame."

"So… What will not happen next time."

"You will not put off calling a back-up babysitter?"

"Well that, but what will you four not do?"

"We won't let our personal live be affected by our band life."

"Very good, now, who wants snacks? You could use something to cheer ya up."

They all nodded and walked into the kitchen.

* * *

It would be said that everyone lived happily ever after, but soon, word got out that Melody was dating Resonance, Ace was crushed. He tried everything within his power to get Melody's attention, yet she chooses someone else over him. What did he do wrong? Why did this guy have that Ace didn't? And is there someone else who would suit him just as well?

Tune in next week to find out!


	4. Star-Crossed Part 2

**Star-Crossed Part 2**

Last time on My Little Pony Tales, Melody and the Rockin' Beats were preparing to compete in the Battle of the Bands. She ended up having a crush on the lead singer of competing band, Resonance. When both lead singers were forced to choose between their bands and each other, they chose to let their bands compete on their own. Both bands have learned their lesson and promised to never let it happen again, but how will Ace cope knowing that his crush has found someone else?

* * *

The soccer team was gathered around the field. Ace was practicing his goal kicks, but his accuracy was off. The more he missed, the more frustrated he became. Lancer, Teddy, and Patch could only watch as Ace's shots were either blocked by the goalie or missed to goal altogether. Eventually, Ace got so mad, he just randomly kicked the ball out of anger and left...and it went right in!

"Geez, harsh much," Patch had to ask.

"Well, wouldn't you be mad if your crush found someone else," Teddy replied.

"Still, it's pretty disturbing what's going on," Lancer added.

"Still, I'd be upset if Swee- er...my crush… cheated on me."

"Hm… True… But still…"

"Maybe he needs to find someone else. I mean, I don't really think Melody was even interested in him."

"No, she wasn't," Patch said, "but you know who DOES like him?"

After a pause, both Lancer and Patch said in perfect unison, "Starlight."

Teddy raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," Lancer said, "but as long as Ace keeps obsessing over Melody, that'll never happen."

"Hmm, interesting…" Teddy chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just my uncle went through the same thing…"

"Oh? Did one girl liked him and he liked a different girl who wanted nothing to do with him?"

"Yup."

"Which did he choose?"

"Both, he's on his third wife, I think."

Both Lancer and Patch just stared at him.

"What?"

"Do you think that'll happen with Ace?"

"Maybe." Teddy shrugged and left Patch and Lancer.

"Do you think he's joking?" Lancer asked.

"Beats me, you hang around him more." Patch replied.

"Well, yeah, but...but… Never mind…" The school bell suddenly rang, saving Lancer, "And it's time for literature, anyway, so I'd prefer to focus on that."

"O-Okay. Catch ya later."

With that, Lancer took off.

* * *

Bright Eyes was digging through her bag for her books. She looked up and suddenly jumped back when she saw Patch's face just a centimeter away from hers. "Patch?! What are you doing here?"

"I have class here."

"Oh, right. That kind of information has a tendency to slip my mind when I get scared half to death!"

"Heh, sorry…"

"Is there something you need, Patch?"

"Now that you mention it, yes."

"What?"

"Some ideas. How should we get Ace to go out with Starlight?"

"You mean...on a date?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, personally, I think maybe she should tell Ace how she feels about her, THEN maybe we can figure out how to see each other."

"But what if Ace tells her 'no'?"

"Then maybe that's for the best, I don't think we should force something like that onto them. After all, things nearly ended terribly when that happened with me and Lancer."

"It wasn't that bad."

"I nearly ended up without a dance partner because you and the other girls had me act like an idiot."

"Yeah...but it wasn't much better from the boys..."

"Still, I don't think it's a good idea to be involved period."

"Unless..."

The bell rang; it was time for class.

"We'll talk about it later."

Bright Eyes looked toward the board. 'Patch, what are you up to?'

* * *

After class, Starlight stayed behind to talk with Miss Hackney. "Miss Hackney? May I talk with you?"

"Of course you can," Miss Hackney said as she filed some homework away, "What's on your mind?"

"Well...it's about Ace."

"Yes?"

"I heard that Melody is going after someone else, so I should be relieved, but at the same time, I I'm scared. What if he says no if I ask?"

"Well... Maybe you should talk to the people who know him a bit better."

"Like Lancer?"

"Sure, or maybe even Teddy."

"Yeah...think I'll stick with Lancer..."

"I understand. I wouldn't if I were in your position."

"Yeah…"

"Is there anything else you need?"

"That's all."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. See you then."

Starlight grabbed her backpack and started to make her way out of the school.

* * *

Starlight tied her apron around her waist and headed to her place at the counter. She noticed Bright Eyes was studying and went over to her. "Hey, Bright Eyes."

Bright Eyes looked up from her school work, "Oh, hey, Starlight."

"Um...do you know if Lancer's coming over?"

"Yeah, we were planning to study together."

"Oh...do you mind if I ask him a few questions when he comes over?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Thanks."

"Does it have anything to do with Ace."

"Yeah…"

"Alright, he should be over here in a minute or two."

"Okay, thanks, again."

"Sure," Bright Eyes went back to her schoolwork.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

"I think I'm good for now."

"Okay, just let me know."

"Will do."

"That reminds me, where are the other girls?"

"They're more than likely at the club house. They didn't want us to be present for this meeting."

"Uh...why not?"

"More than likely, it's something neither one of us would approve of."

"Oh dear...what is it this time?"

"They want to force you and Ace together."

"O-oh?"

"Yeah, I told them you need to tell him yourself, and if he says 'no', then it might be for the best."

"Well thanks for the moral support…"

"You're welc- wait, you were being sarcastic, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was."

"Well, maybe he'd say no for a reason…"

"Or he'd say it because...because...because maybe he's too shy?"

"Ace...too shy?"

"...You never know…"

"But come on, this is Ace you're talking about. He can't be shy."

"I guess but-"

"Hey," Lancer greeted as he walked up to the counter.

"Hi Lancer," Bright Eyes grinned.

Both ponies were staring at each other...kinda looked creepy to Starlight. "So Lancer, can I talk to you in private," Starlight asked.

"Um...sure…" Lancer followed Starlight into the corner. "What's up?"

"Um...do you think me asking Ace out on a date would be...bad?"

"You mean right now?"

"Yeah…"

"Judging by the way he acted at soccer practice, now would be a bad time. Wait until he calms down."

"Oh...when would be?"

"I have no idea. I'd pay attention to him. When he doesn't show any signs of anger, you can ask him."

"Alright…"

"I can help you if you want…"

"Really?"

"Sure."

Starlight grinned, and gave Lancer a big hug, "Thank you."

"Um… No problem." Lancer was blushing wildly. He looked over his shoulder. Thankfully, Bright Eyes was engrossed in her studies. "Please let go of me before Bright Eyes sees us…"

"Oh," Starlight let go, "Sorry."

"It's okay…" Lancer returned to the booth next to Bright Eyes. He grabbed his books. "So, are you ready?"

"Yeah… But I have to ask, what was that hug about?"

"Hug?" Lancer swallowed.

"Yeah, Starlight gave you a hug and said something."

"Oh...it was just about...something…"

"What?"

"W-well, I...she…"

Bright Eyes raised an eyebrow.

Lancer finally sighed, "It was some advice about Ace. I offered to help her."

"I figured," she said with an evil grin.

"Wait a minute, you knew about this?"

"About the crush? I've known for a long time."

"Oh… Then why did you try to give me a heart attack?"

"Just to make sure…"

"Okay…"

For the rest of the afternoon, Lancer and Bright Eyes continued their studies.

* * *

Starlight was wearing a blindfold while being led into the restaurant by Patch and Clover. "Where are we?" Starlight asked for the billionth time.

"It's a surprise," Patch explained for the billionth time.

"Ugh!"

"But we're here now." Clover said.

"Really?"

"Yup," Patch grinned.

Both girls removed Starlight's blindfold. Before her eyes was… "Ace?"

"Starlight?"

Starlight looked up and… Teddy and Sweetheart were standing behind him… She looked in Teddy's hand to see a blindfold dangling from his hand. 'They're not...'

Both ponies looked around to find themselves in a restaurant.

'They are…'

"Over here," Teddy called out, "Got you a seat."

Starlight and Ace looked at Teddy before looking at each other. 'Wow this is awkward.' They both thought. They walked over to their table and sat down. Everyone else walked to another table.

"So Ace… Get the idea that something's a little off here?" Starlight asked.

"Um… Besides me being kidnapped and taken here against my will?"

"Yep… And the fact that you are in front of someone who had the same thing happen to her?"

"Yeah… Do you think…"

"Blind date? Oh yeah. In fact, Bright Eyes warned me, in a way, that it would happen."

"Yeah… I mean, I know I went through a breakup, though we never got together; but seriously, this is what they're resorting to? For that matter, why did one of your friends warn you?"

"Well… because I… Have a crush on you."

"You do?"

"Yeah...and she was warning me about telling you so soon after the whole 'thing' with Melody."

"Oh...yeah, I was kinda ticked off…"

"Which is why I wanted to put it off. If you want to say no, I understand. For one thing, it's way too soon to ask."

"Well, I think I'd like to get to know you a little better before making a decision."

"Oh...I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah, I mean, I do know you well as a player, but…"

"I know."

"Guess that's why we're here, huh?"

"Yeah… What do you think? Should we take advantage of this and later plot revenge on our friends," Starlight grinned.

Ace chuckled. "Maybe, but if it hadn't been for them, I might not have been able to know about your feelings."

"Yeah… And you'd think they'd learn from the last time something like this happened."

"Yeah...guess they're one for two, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"So...Is Lancer paying for this?"

"Probably. So make sure you get the most expensive meal on the menu."

Starlight giggled.

* * *

"So… How did it go," Teddy asked.

"Real well," Ace replied, "Starlight's a real nice girl."

"And you wanted to go out with Melody…"

"Hey, Melody's still pretty cute….but Starlight...she's pretty too, but she's also...kinda…"

"Got a lot in common with you?"

"Well, she likes sports like I do, but there's something about her that I really like…"

"What?"

"...I don't know, but I hope soon I will."

"Well at least that's one more problem solved," Lancer said as he walked in.

"What's the other," Teddy asked.

"There isn't, or at least none that I know of."

"I have a question, why weren't you there last night, Lancer? Didn't you pay for it?"

"Well… No, but I was studying with Bright Eyes. Truth is, I didn't even know about it until Patch called me."

"Uh oh."

* * *

Lancer entered his room and put his backpack on the bed. But just as he was going to close the door, his mom called out, "Lancer?"

"Yes?"

"Why is there a bill to the Golden Petunia restaurant?"

"Oh, I took Bright Eyes on a date and forgot my wallet."

"Oh, well, as long as you get it payed-"

"I already have."

"Oh...okay!"

"Yeah. I'll try to remember next time."

"Okay."

'Well… hope ya enjoyed it, Ace.' Lancer smiled.


	5. Parental Guidance

**Parental Guidance**

Sweetheart awoke to the scent of blueberry pancakes, her favorite. She sat up and stretched before getting out of bed. She glanced at the picture on her head board: It was a picture of Teddy with Sweetheart after a trip to the fair. She sighed contentedly and headed for the bathroom…

* * *

Teddy groaned as the sun glared into his eyes. Couldn't he sleep for just a couple more minutes? He got up and looked at the picture of himself and Sweetheart on their trip to the fair. He smiled at the image of the little white pony, she was way too nice to him, but he was glad that it was one of her traits. After all, it DID help to prove his innocence when Melody's tape recorder disappeared. Teddy got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom.

* * *

Sweetheart walked into the dining room practically floating to the smell of the pancakes. She stopped next to her mom, who was making the pancakes. "Good morning Sweetheart," her mom greeted.

"Good morning Mom."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I really, truly did. Did you?"

"I did, thank you."

"You're welcome. Where's Dad?"

"He's in the family room."

"Okay, thank you," Sweetheart went towards the family room. Her father was on the couch reading the newspaper. "Good morning Dad."

Her father turned to look in her direction, "Good morning, Sweetheart, how are you?"

"Good. And you?"

"Good, just reading the paper."

"Oh...anything interesting?"

"Not really."

"Oh…" Sweetheart went back to the kitchen, where her mom was putting the last of the pancakes on a plate.

"Ready to eat," Her mom asked.

"Ready," she said.

"Okay. Is your dad ready?"

"Yes, I am," Her dad entered.

"Okay. Oh and I heard you and Teddy spent some time together at a restaurant last night."

"Well, it wasn't just me: Melody and Patch were helping us get Ace and Starlight together."

"Oh… But you do seem to hang around him a lot…"

"Well… Yeah…"

"How come? A lot of people say he's kind of a bully…"

"Oh...Well, they don't really know him…"

"But still, I'm surprised he hasn't hurt anyone. Even so, his influence could rub off on you."

"But he's a really, truly good boy…"

"Well, we want to meet him."

"Well, I'd have to tell him…"

"Okay, but do it after we eat."

"Okay…" Sweetheart began to feel her face grow warm.

* * *

Teddy walked down the street toward Lancer's house. What he didn't expect to see from the corner of his eye was Sweetheart. He stopped to look and, sure enough, it was Sweetheart. "Sweetheart?"

"Hey Teddy."

"Hey...I wasn't expecting to see you, how are you?"

"Um...I could be better…"

"Oh? What's wrong?"

"My parents want to meet you."

"Oh? What's the problem with that?"

"Well… They don't see you the way I do… So… Yeah…"

"Well, I'll try my best, for you, Sweetheart."

"Thank you. When do you want to meet them?"

"Um...I dunno...I think I should maybe get lessons from Lancer. He is a goodie-two-shoes after all."

"I heard that," Lancer said as he was walking up."

"O-oh...h-hey Lancer…"

"So… Goodie-two-shoes, huh?"

"Uh...yeah, but I mean it in the best, possible way," Teddy grinned.

"Uh huh…"

"Yup…"

"Anyway…" Sweetheart interrupted, "Do you think you could help Teddy?"

"Help him with what?"

"My parents want to meet with him, they're afraid he's a bad influence."

"Well, he is the bully four times out of five."

Teddy's head hung low, "But I want to change, especially for Sweetheart, she's the only one outside my family who cares about me."

"Okay, shall we begin once we get to my place?"

Teddy's head raised, "Really?"

"Sooner the better, right?"

"Uh...yeah! Sure! Thanks, Lancer!"

"Anytime."

* * *

Teddy, Lancer, and Sweetheart found themselves in Lancer's room. "Okay...So…" Lancer went over to his closet, and pulled out a fake glasses and moustache combo, and a woman's wig, and put them both on, "Let's start by role playing the discussion."

"Um… are those necessary," Teddy asked.

"Yes, now," Lancer sat on the bed, put the wig down, and said in a gruff voice, "How long have you been seeing our daughter?"

"Um… my dad doesn't talk like that," Sweetheart said.

Lancer gave Sweetheart a flat look, "Then how DOES he sound?"

"A little deeper, but not that much."

"Better," Lancer asked in a slightly deeper voice.

"Better."

"Okay. Now… How long have you been seeing our daughter?"

"Um… For a pretty long while," Teddy said.

"How long is that?"

"About a year I think."

Lancer switched to the wig and said in a high-pitched voice, "And have you-

Both Sweetheart and Teddy laughed hysterically at Lancer.

"Now what?"

"Nothing," Teddy said in a girly tone.

Lancer glared at them. "Hey, if Bright Eyes were here, she would be able to play the mother."

"I hope not, you're great!" Teddy burst into another fit of laughter.

"Because I'm funny? Is that it?"

"What do you think?"

"I can kick you out you know."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Please, continue."

Just then, Bright Eyes walked in. An awkward look was etched on her face when she saw Lancer wearing a girl's wig. "Uh...Lancer?"

Lancer turned and saw Bright Eyes, "O-oh...hey there, Bright Eyes…" He immediately took off the wig. "What's up?"

"Um...I forgot…"

"Okay… So what brings you here?"

"Apparently you in a wig…"

Lancer quickly brushed the wig off, "Heh, I was trying to help Teddy."

"Sure you were..."

"Really!"

"And what are Teddy and Sweetheart doing here anyway?"

"Well…"

"My parents want to meet Teddy and Lancer was trying to help Teddy learn how to be nice," Sweetheart answered.

"Oh. Okay," Bright Eyes said, "and the wig was..."

"Role play," Lancer answered, "Unfortunately, my 'mom' is worse than my 'dad.' Really need to have a girl with me to do that."

"Okay… Well, I'd love to join in, but I think it would be a better idea to find out why he's acting out."

"What do ya mean," Teddy asked gruffly.

"I mean is there a reason why you act the way you do? You don't bully Sweetheart, so that must mean something."

"That's my business, not yours."

"But we kinda need to know, what if Sweetheart's parents ask?"

"What makes you think they would?"

"Hey, we asked," Lancer said, "What's going to stop them?"

"It's still not your business to know."

"...Fine...but still, might come up."

"Well...I'll keep it in mind…"

"Yeah…"

"Now...Bright Eyes will you be the mom," Lancer asked.

"Fine...but one, don't wear the glasses, and two, I'm NOT wearing the wig."

"Fine…"

Bright Eyes got up on the bed, "So what questions have you asked?"

"'How long have you been seeing our daughter,' and 'How long is that'?"

"Okay, well I guess the next question might be 'What have you done with her?'"

"Um...I've mostly just… talked with her at school, I haven't done really...anything."

"But you had dinner one time."

"You mean last night? That was just us helping a couple of our friends."

"At a resturaunt?"

"Yeah…"

"It can still be considered a date."

"Well...we didn't see each other much, and we were with others…"

"But it could kind of be," Sweetheart pointed out.

"Not helping…"

"Oh...sorry…"

"Teddy, why are you being so mean to our daughter," Bright Eyes demanded.

"I wasn't. I was just trying to say that we weren't dating."

"But aren't you," Lancer asked.

"No."

"Then what were you doing last night?"

"We were trying to get two of our friends together."

"Together?"

"Yeah, basically one of my friends had a crush on one of his friends," Sweetheart said.

"So we brought 'em together…" Teddy finished.

"I see, so you went to a public place together?"

"Yes...but that's not really a date… because there were other ponies with us."

"I see, any parents?"

"W-well...no...but there were adults there…"

"I see…" Lancer stroked his chin.

"Have you been treating our daughter well? Better than you treat your classmates?"

Teddy rolled his eyes, "I doubt they'll ask about you."

Bright Eyes glared at Teddy, "Don't question my husband."

"Fine…" Teddy sighed, "Truth is...I don't think I treat her with the respect she deserves."

"You don't?"

"No, but I want to change that."

"And why should we allow you to continue seeing her? You might NOT change."

"I'll do my best, she's an amazing girl; she reminds me of my sister." Just then, Teddy realized what just came out of his mouth. He looked at everyone else to see the same expression. "You didn't hear that last part, did you?"

"Do you want the truth," Bright Eyes asked.

"Um… No?"

"Didn't hear a word."

Teddy swallowed hard. "I guess I have some explaining to do, don't I?"

"Ya think?"

"But you don't if you really, truly don't want to," Sweetheart explained.

"Well, got this deep, so might as well…" Teddy heaved a sigh before, "Before I met Sweetheart, I had a sister who was kidnapped."

Lancer's eyes widened, Bright Eyes gasped, and Sweetheart bit her lip.

"Why didn't you tell us," Lancer asked.

"Cuz I don't think it's anyone's business but my own...but I was gonna tell you, Sweetheart…"

"Oh," Sweetheart sat down.

"Yeah… So...now you know my worst secret…"

Everyone remained silent before... "So just as a guess… IF you happened to have that teddy bear everyone was gossiping about, would it be because she gave it to you," Lancer asked.

Teddy nodded, "I was getting bullied at school, and she noticed...so she bought me a teddy bear." But his facial expression immediately turned into a glare. "But if you tell anyone, I'll tell everyone about the time you and Ace were dressed as babies."

"Uh...okay, we promise."

"Okay…"

"Teddy, I'm sorry this happened," Bright Eyes said.

"Yeah… It's why I'm kinda nervous about this; I don't want to lose Sweetheart, too."

"Well, maybe if you told them, they'd understand."

"Maybe, but what about my attitude?"

"Well...you may have to do a bit of explaining, but talking about your sister might help…"

"Are you sure?"

"I think it would," Sweetheart grinned.

Bright Eyes spoke, "And that thing about you 'being willing to change for Sweetheart', that'd get me…"

"It's true," Teddy remarked.

"May wanna add that, too…"

"Okay…" Teddy looked out the door, "I think I need to go for a walk…"

"Okay, do you want me to walk you out," Lancer asked.

"No...I can do it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay…"

Just then, the phone rang. Lancer answered it. "Hello?"

There was a pause, before, "What?!" He handed the phone to Teddy.

"Um… Hello?"

Teddy's mother spoke. "Teddy, I have some good news."

"What is it?"

"They found your sister. She's home right now."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes. She really wants to see you right now."

"Okay, I'll be right over. Bye." He hung up. "I gotta go, but I'll meet you sometime later."

"Um… Okay…"Bright Eyes said.

And with that, Teddy bolted out, running home.

* * *

Teddy burst through the door nearly ripping it off of the hinges. He was out of breath from his run, but he had to see if it was true. He ran into the living room. There he saw both of his parents hugging a familiar red pony with a yellow mane. Her cutie mark was that of a flame. Teddy nearly collapsed from the shock, but he let out a weak, "Flare…?"

Flare looked at her brother. She was scared at first, but she soon recognized who it was. "T-Teddy?"

Teddy slowly walked up to Flare and immediately hugged her. "I missed you so much…"

Flare hugged back. "I missed you too…"

_To be continued..._


	6. Road to Recovery

**Road to Recovery.**

Flare's eyes fluttered open. For the first time in years, she found herself in her own room. At first,

she barely recognized it, and even when she did a few moments later, she still felt like an alien in

her own home. She swallowed hard and rubbed her tongue against her dry mouth. She got out of

bed and wandered out of her room. She was going to creep through the hall to get to the kitchen,

but she remembered that she was in her own home. Her family wouldn't treat her badly, right?

But what if they were going through a drought and couldn't get any water? Or what if they were

over their water bill and they'd lose their home?!

"Good morning, Flare," Teddy said.

"Agh!" Flare dove to the side of her bed so that whoever that was wouldn't come near her.

"Relax, it's just me."

Flare cautiously looked to Teddy, "H-Hi, Teddy."

Teddy helped Flare out from under the bed. "Still shook up over that, huh?"

Flare nodded.

"Yeah, whoever did that would have had to do something really bad for you to be that scared."

Flare nodded again.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. Maybe I should introduce you to my friends, you'll love them."

"WIll they hurt me," her shy voice asked.

"Hurt you? Nah. Well, Melody's got quite an attitude, but the others are okay. Besides, look

who's here to see you." He pulled out an object that was all too familiar to Flare; the teddy bear.

"Y-You kept it?"

"Yep, ever since you were kidnapped. He helped me get to sleep every night, especially when

worrying about you."

"Oh, I see."

"But one of my friends actually reminds me a lot of you."

Flare's ears perked up.

"Yep. Very sweet, caring, just like you."

Flare blushed, "Could I meet them sometime? If they'd be okay with it, I mean."

"Of course they would. Actually, I was just telling three of my friends about you when I got the

call saying that the police found you. Weird, huh?"

Flare giggled. "Yeah..." That's when a thought came to Flare, "Teddy? Can I get a glass of

water?"

"Sure." He got up and walked into the kitchen.

Flare started to follow him, but immediately stopped.

Teddy noticed this and looked behind towards Flare, "Flare? You okay?"

"Um… I think so…"

"Okay… You know the house is open to everyone, right?

"It is?"

Teddy sighed. "As long as you don't do anything too crazy, you're good."

"Okay."

* * *

Bright Eyes looked at Flare with such fascination."So you're Teddy's sister, correct?"

"Y-yes, I am," Flare replied. She was starting to shake, and her hooves felt sweaty.

"Well, I do see some resemblance."

"Well, I think she's really truly wonderful, which is a lot like Teddy." Sweetheart smiled.

Flare smiled, while Teddy blushed.

"But I can tell that she's feeling a little… uneasy," Bright Eyes said, "Might be a result of PTSD."

"PTSD," Teddy, Sweetheart, and Flare asked.

"It's an abbreviation for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She'll be paranoid for a bit and maybe

even lash out if pushed too far. Fortunately, therapy can be done to help her."

"And she could probably qualify for a service dog," Lancer pointed out.

"She's not blind," Teddy said.

"A doggy," Flare asked.

"Yes, BUT this dog would be trained to help you relax should you start to have a panic attack,"

Lancer said.

"Oh..."

"But I think you'd need a pychological exam first."

"A psycona… what?"

"It means a doctor would need to see if you really do have PTSD."

"A doctor?" Flare began to sweat, "I-I don't like doctors..."

Everyone looked at Flare. What doctors was she with?

"Don't worry," Bright Eyes said, "A real doctor wouldn't hurt you unless your parents allowed

them, but I doubt your parents will."

"B-but what if they do? What if they want him to hurt me?" Flare began hyperventilating.

Teddy hugged her. "That won't happen, I promise."

Flare began to calm down, "Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Bad choice of words. Flare's eyes widened. "You want to die?"

"It's an expression. Trust me, I promise."

"And if you do decided to get a service dog, I can help to pay for it." Lancer offered.

Flare smiled at Lancer, "Thank you."

* * *

Flare and her mother sat in a doctor's office while Teddy and his father sat in the waiting room.

Teddy and Flare spoke with their parents about the idea. They thought it was a good idea, but

were a little hesitant about getting a service dog since they were pretty expensive, even though

they were told that a friend was going to provide them with the money. What they did agree on

doing, however, was seeing if there was a way to help her recover.

"Do you think she'll get better," Flare's mother asked.

The doctor replied, "Well, she is showing signs of PTSD, but there is hope."

"What would we need to do, Doctor?"

"Well, one thing to do is to schedule appointments with a therapist, but she would need help

outside of those sessions."

"One of my son's friends suggested a service dog, would that help?"

"Assuming you could afford one and it's from a reliable organization, yes."

"I see… Do you know of any places that are reliable?"

"I do actually. I can write down their contact information if you wish."

"Um...it might be a good idea, just in case."

The doctor wrote down the phone number and address on a piece of paper and handed it to

Flare's mom. Flare looked at the paper before looking at the doctor. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The mother and daughter exited the doctor's office to meet up with the rest of their family.

Teddy's father asked, "So what did the doctor say?"

"He said that Flare does seem to have PTSD, and she'll need to see a therapist."

"Okay."

"He also suggested seeing about a service dog for in between appointments."

Teddy's dad sighed, "Well, I guess if it helps Flare, then we should definitely consider it."

"Luckily, he did recommend a place to go to."

"Oh, that's good. When do you want to go?"

"Well, if they aren't busy tomorrow, we can go then."

"That sounds good, do you want to bring Flare?"

"Of course we should; she's the one getting the dog."

"True...But I don't want to get her hopes up."

"They will need to have her learn the commands should she be able to have one.

"True, I guess we should then."

"Alright."

* * *

The following afternoon, the family went to the facility that the doctor recommended, Paws and

Hooves Services. Teddy's dad held open the door for the rest of his family.

The place smelled like, well, to be honest it smelled like a bunch of dogs, but that was to be

expected. There was a mare behind the main desk at a computer. The family went up to her and

Teddy's dad asked, "Excuse me?"

She turned to them. "Welcome. May I help you?"

"Yes, we were hoping to get a service dog for my daughter. She suffers from Post Traumatic

Stress Disorder."

"Do you have any medical records to validate this?"

"Yes." He handed the papers to the mare for her to examine.

The mare looked them over. "Fair enough. I'll have someone come meet you."

"Thank you."

"You can sit in any of those chairs," The mare pointed to a row of empty chairs.

Teddy's dad smiled at the mare and the family sat down in the chairs.

A few minutes later, a filly walked into the room. "Hello, my name i- Teddy?!"

Teddy's head snapped toward the filly in question. It was Bright Eyes. "Bright Eyes? What are

you doing here?"

"I volunteer here."

"Oh...I never knew that."

"I didn't think you'd show up, but I guess it was just luck. Anyway, I'll be helping you with getting

to know your service animal and give you some tips on how to train them."

"Don't you guys provide the training."

"Yes, these dogs were trained since puppyhood, but it is also the owner's responsibility to make

sure they stay on track."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah. Anyway, if you follow me, I shall introduce you to your companion." Bright Eyes walked

down the hall with the family following her.

They came to a hallway filled with several cages of barking/howling dogs. Bright Eyes pointed

them to a German shepherd. "This is Scout. He is two years old, but he's well-trained. He's good

around kids, and very protective."

Teddy's mother said, "Well, it's good to hear he's good with kids…"

"And he's trained to know when his master is about to panic so that he can help to calm him or

her."

"Okay."

"It's also common knowledge not to let anyone pet the dog while he is working, otherwise he will

be distracted."

"But if he isn't it's okay?"

"Yes."

"Does he prefer to stay inside or outside?"

"He's flexible in that area. Also, he is allowed by the Ponies With Disabilities Act to be in any

public building that can accommodate him. The only exception is theme park rides since it would

be hard to accommodate him."

"Would we have to return him if Flare recovers?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He was trained to aid people with disabilities such as PTSD and autism."

"Oh."

"But he does miss the ones he has helped."

"Has he helped anyone before?"

"Yes, you are family number three."

"Bet he felt pretty bad the other two times," Teddy said.

"Yes, but he also knows that there are other ponies that need help."

"Well, that's good to know..."

"But as long as he leaves knowing that Flare recovers, he knows that he has done his job."

"Good."

"So, shall we go over the commands?"

"Yes."

* * *

Flare walked Scout into her room. There was no problem with the dog, and he has done a good

job so far. It was a bit difficult having to start dealing with a rather large dog, but Flare seemed to

welcome the change. She walked over to her mirror and brushed her mane. She saw a figure in

the mirror and started to panic, but Scout gave Flare a nuzzle to try to calm her. It worked. She

looked in the mirror to see Teddy.

"Hey, you okay, Flare?"

"Oh, yeah. You just scared me."

"Oh... Sorry… Guess Scout helped to calm you down, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, glad he's doing his job. I just wanted to tell you good night."

"Oh. Okay. Good night."

"Good night, I love you." Teddy smiled.

"Love you too."

Teddy leaves the room, leaving Flare alone with Scout. Flare finishes brushing her mane before

she gets into bed. She invites Scout onto the bed, and she suddenly felt a furry mass next to

her. Scout laid down, and they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone, just a little note that I will be posting these episodes on Saturday from now on.


	7. A Friendly Visit

**A Friendly Visit**

Bright Eyes was leaving the library after doing some research. She walked down the stairs and was about to head home, when she saw someone... "Moki?"

Moki looked at Bright Eyes. "Oh...hello Bright Eyes."

"It's been a while, hasn't it."

"Yes it has."

"What brings you here?"

"My family's visiting here, and I just remembered that you live here."

"Oh, we'll its really good to see you."

"It is really good to see you too."

"So where are you staying?"

"I think the name of the hotel was "Hampony Inn."

"Oh, I heard that it was a pretty nice hotel."

"It is."

"That's good to hear. When you get a chance you really need to meet my friends."

"I look forward to meeting them, especially Lancer."

"Yeah, you'll especially like him as compared to Ace and Teddy. By the way, I found out that Teddy has a sister."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it turns out that she was kidnapped while they were really young."

"Wow..."

"She suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, which explains why you'll see her with a service dog."

"A service dog?"

"It's basically a dog that helps people with disabilities such as post traumatic stress disorder. Oh, and petting him would be ill advised; it would distract him from his work."

"Oh..."

"But like I said, you really need to meet them."

"Well, I really look forward to it."

"Me too."

"So where are they?"

"I don't really know, but we do plan to meet tomorrow afternoon. Will you be around then?"

"We'll be here until Saturday, so yes."

"Okay, then I guess meet us at the ice cream shop."

"Okay, sounds good."

"See you then."

With that, they both went their separate ways.

* * *

The following day, all of the girls were gathered at the ice cream shop. Moki had yet to show up, but her appearance would not be one to forget.

"Can't wait to meet Moki," Clover said.

"Me either," Patch added.

"And she won't do anything to us, right," Bon Bon asked.

Everyone gave Bon Bon a strange look.

"What?"

"Bon Bon, her family saved me from falling into a volcano," Bright Eyes said, "Trust me, she's not bad."

"Okay..."

"Besides, you'll love her."

"We'll see..."

Moki walked into the store. She was pretty easy to recognize since she was the only tropical pony present.

"Hello, Moki," Bright Eyes gave her friend a big hug.

Moki hugged back "Hello."

"So... Ready to meet the girls?"

"I am ready."

"Okay." She walked Moki over to the group. "Girls, this is Moki. Moki, this is Melody, Starlight, Bon Bon, Clover, Sweetheart, and Patch."

"It is very nice to meet you all," Moki smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too." Starlight smiled.

"So is it true that you saved Bright Eyes from a volcano," Patch asked.

"Well, it was my father who saved her, but yes."

"Awesome…"

"But she did say that she was told some very unusual stories about tropical ponies."

"Oh… That… Well, we were pretty nervous about her leaving and thought something bad would happen."

"Did anything bad happen?"

"Well, from what Bright Eyes told us, no," Starlight said, "But lesson learned."

"Yeah..." Bright Eyes couldn't really be too stern with them. After all, she had made the same mistake.

"So, would you like something," Starlight asked Moki.

"Um… Yes. What do you have?"

Starlight pulled out a menu from behind the counter and gave it to Moki.

"You have plenty of interesting choices," Moki noted. After a few moments she decided on a banana split.

Starlight takes the menu and walk over to the counter to prepare the banana split. While Starlight was fixing the ice cream, the other girls began asking Moki questions. When Starlight finally finishes, she gave Moki the banana split. Moki was about to pay for it but, Bright Eyes does it for her instead.

"You didn't have to do that, Bright Eyes," Moki said.

"I know, but I wanted to."

"Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Teddy and Flare were walking toward the soccer field. Flare's service dog, Scout, remained close to her. "Doin okay, Flare," Teddy asked.

"Y-yeah. I can't wait to see Ms. Bright Eyes's friend.

"Yeah...speaking of which..." Teddy pointed to the two approaching girls.

Flare looked in that direction to see Bright Eyes and Moki.

"Hello Teddy, Flare," Bright Eyes smiled, "How are you?"

"Um… G-Good," Flare said. She was feeling a little nervous around Moki. Scout noticed this and gave Flare's side a nuzzle, comforting the filly. Flare noticed this and gave him a short pat on the head. She looked at the two. "So what do you think of Ponyland?"

"It is good so far," Moki said, "though it just is not as quiet as Tropical Island."

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

"It is alright. Besides, I needed to learn about this place."

"Why," Teddy asked.

"Well, she did visit my home. My family thought it was best to return the favor."

"Oh yeah..."

"So you're the one they call Teddy, right?"

"Yup. And you already know Flare."

Moki looked back at Flare and smiled. "Yes, I heard about her yesterday. I am sorry to hear about what had happened to her."

"Yeah...I'm glad she's back…" Teddy looked at his sister, who was stroking Scout.

"Do you know what happened?"

Flare began to tremble at the memories of what had happened to her. Scout nuzzled Flare's neck, attempting to comfort her. The affection from the dog began to calm her, but she was still sweating.

Moki, meanwhile, was sweating herself. She didn't mean to upset Flare, it was an accident. Bright Eyes noticed her friend's discomfort and placed a hoof on her shoulder, "It's okay, you didn't know that would happen."

"I suppose… but I feel bad."

"Flare's an understanding girl, she'll forgive you."

"Are you sure?"

Bright Eyes nodded.

Moki approached Flare, "Flare? I'm sorry I brought back such a painful memory, would you forgive me?"

Flare nodded.

"Thank you…"

"Like you said, you didn't mean to do that."

Moki sighed, then looked up to Teddy, "Will you forgive me?"

Teddy sighed, "I guess."

"Thank you…"

* * *

Lancer and Ace were practicing for tomorrow's soccer game. Ace kicked the ball towards the goal and Lancer attempted to block it, but failed as the ball hit the net.

"Rats," Lancer exclaimed.

"Well, that's what happens when ya go against ol' Ace," Ace sneered.

Lancer sighed, and kicked the ball back to Ace. "I'll get you one day. Just you wait."

"Yeah, dream on."

"Hi boys."

The boys turned to their right and saw Bright Eyes and Moki by the grandstands. Lancer was the first to speak. "Hey Bright Eyes. Who's your friend?"

"This is Moki, my friend from Tropical Island. Moki, these are Ace and Lancer."

"It's nice to meet you," Moki smiled.

"Nice to meet you too," Lancer replied.

"Hiya babe," Ace flashed his mare-attracting smile.

Lancer saw the opportunity to say, "Ace, don't you already have Starlight?"

Ace stopped smiling and glared at Lancer. "I know, I just can't resist doing that."

Bright Eyes rolled her eyes, "Oh brother."

Moki looked at Bright Eyes. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just boys being boys."

There was a pause before Moki replied, "Oh."

"Are you seeing anyone, Moki?"

"No, not really. I just have my family and a few friends."

"Oh..."

"I don't see myself seeing someone as you put it, but that doesn't mean it won't happen."

"Ain't that the truth," Ace replied.

"Are you seeing anyone, Bright Eyes?"

"I am actually."

"Who?"

Bright Eyes said nothing, but rather looked at Lancer.

Lancer noticed this, and began blushing.

"Oh," Moki said, "And he's Lancer, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, it should not have come as a surprise seeing how you kept mentioning him in your letters."

This made Lancer blush even more. Ace noticed this and started laughing. When he saw both girls looking at Ace, he asked, "What?"

There was no answer.

"If it helps, Lancer, it is hard NOT to talk about you. After all, she said nothing but good things about you."

"Th-Thanks… So… have you ever played soccer?"

"Only a little."

"Would you like to show us," Ace asked.

"I can. Do you want me to kick, or block."

"Hm… Let's see if you can get the ball past me."

"Okay. Just be careful," Bright Eyes cautioned, "Her parent's would appreciate it if she returned in one piece."

"Do not worry," Moki said, "I will be fine."

Lancer kicked the ball to Moki, who caught it before facing Ace. Ace was ready to block the ball. Moki kicked the ball toward the goal, but Ace caught it. "Oh well, better luck next time," Ace said.

"I was just, as you put it, warming up," Moki said.

Ace raised an eyebrow before he kicked the ball back to Moki. "Okay then." He kicked the ball to Moki. "Give me your best shot."

Moki nodded and kicked the ball again. Ace tried to block the ball again, but it was too quick for him to react in time; it soared right past him. Ace stood there dumbstruck, but when he looked at the grandstand, he noticed another pony; Starlight. "Really," he muttered.

Starlight tried so hard to resist a laugh. She had to admit, Ace was SUPER cute when he was blushing. But Moki… Starlight had no idea that she had it in her to be able to do what she did.

"Beginner's luck," Ace kicked the ball back to Moki.

"Thank you. Did I mention that we have a soccer team back on Tropical Island?"

"No...what's it called?"

"Hibiscus Hurricane," Moki replied, "We often play against each other until the Ponyland Soccer Tournament."

"Oh yeah, now I recognize the team, but why have we not seen you?"

"Because I joined this year."

"Oh, well, I look forward to beat- err... Facing you."

"It will be a pleasure."

"Aw… Ace made a friend," Starlight said in a giggle.

The two looked at Starlight. "We're not friends, just friendly rivals," Ace said.

"Doesn't that also mean friends," Moki asked.

"Well, yes, but on opposite sides," Ace admitted.

* * *

Bright Eyes walked Moki back to the hotel. "It was great to see you again, Moki."

"It nice seeing you again too, Bright Eyes."

"I can't wait to see you in the Ponyland Soccer Tournament. You would be great."

"Thank you, but isn't Lancer on Ponyville's team?"

"Well...I'll just go for both of you," she grinned.

"Thank you, I should probably get to my room. Good night, Bright Eyes."

"Good night, Moki."

With that, Moki walks into the hotel leaving Bright Eyes outside alone. She looked up at the nighttime sky and saw one star shining brighter than the others. She said to it, "I wish you could meet her. You would have loved her."

* * *

A/N

Sorry it's a little late. We planned for it to be done on Saturday, but then things got crazy. Hopefully we will be able to avoid that.


	8. In the Blender

**In the Blender**

Miss Hackney was standing at the front of the classroom. "Alright everyone, that should be-"

The coo-coo clock rang and every pony burst out of the classroom. Bright Eyes walked outside looking for someone in particular, but was stopped by Lancer. "Hey Bright Eyes," he said.

Bright Eyes looked at him and smiled, "Hey Lancer."

"So...will you still be able to make it Friday night?"

"So far, yes."

"Okay. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Me too. It'll be our first date, right?"

"Yep. Do you think Flare would ever experience something like that?"

"Part of me hopes yes, but another part doesn't want her to be heart broken."

Bright Eyes paused for a minute. "Yeah… speaking of which, it's too bad that she couldn't join us for the classes."

"Yeah, but after missing years of school, it's a good thing she's being homeschooled."

"Yeah, this might not be the best atmosphere for her." Out of the corner of her eye, Bright Eyes spotted Circuit. "Well, there's my dad. I gotta go."

"Okay, can I call you when you get home?"

Bright Eyes nodded.

"Cool, talk to you in a bit."

"Okay, talk to you then." Bright Eyes smiled and left to see her father.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Circuit asked.

"Ready." Bright Eyes smiled.

"Okay then. Let us go."

They both left the school. Bright Eyes noticed that her father was a little happier than he normally would be. He did like his job as a writer for the paper, but he was especially happy. "So how was your day, Dad?"

"It went well."

"Really?" A sly look was etched upon her face.

"Yup, had a good day at work, great lunch, and now I'm taking my wonderful girl home, what could be better?"

"Well, it's just that you're happy. And I don't mean your normal happy. I mean you're really happy."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Well, your smile's bigger. And you were kind of sighing a lot."

"It's that obvious, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I guess I should tell you, but only when we get home."

"Uh-huh...can I have a hint?"

"Nope."

"Well… Can I guess?"

"Not quite yet."

Bright Eyes lay her head on the car window, thinking. 'What could it be?'

* * *

Bright Eyes and Circuit entered their home and Circuit closed the door behind him. "Okay, are you ready for me to tell you?" Circuit asked his daughter, knowing the answer.

"Yes!"

"Okay… Well… the truth is…you aren't the only pony in this family seeing someone."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Yep. I am dating another pony."

"Wow… After all these years…"

"Hey! You make it sound like I'm old."

"What? It's been about four years since…"

"I know. I still kind of wonder if I'm doing the right thing, if she'd want me to date another mare."

"I think she'd want you to be happy."

"I guess...but is four years too early? Should I wait a bit longer?"

"Dad, I don't think you'd have to worry about that."

"I suppose..." Suddenly, something dawned on Circuit, "Wait, shouldn't I be the one giving YOU relationship advice?"

She giggled. "That is true."

"Yeah...how are things going between you and Lancer?"

"Good. Unless something changes, we're still on for Friday."

"Neat. I'm gonna go on a date Friday myself, think we should double date?"

"Hm… Maybe I should ask Lancer and see what he thinks."

"Sure, just thought it might be a good chance for you to meet my...girlfriend... That feels so awkward in front of my daughter."

"It'll be o-" Suddenly, the phone rang. "I'll get that, probably Lancer." Bright Eyes went over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bright Eyes." It was Lancer.

"Hey...let me get on the phone in my room, then I need to tell you something."

"Okay, I'll wait."

Bright Eyes took the phone and went into her room. Once she closed the door, she continued. "Okay, do you remember when I told you about my mom's passing?"

"Yeah, that was pretty sad."

"Well, I found out my dad's doing something that's not sad at all, and actually really good."

"Oh? What is it?"

"He's seeing someone."

"Really?!"

"Yes."

"Wow, do you know who it is?"

"No, I just found out today, but if it's okay with you, we could double date with him."

"I don't mind If his date doesn't."

"Okay then. Well, I guess we wait and see what his date thinks."

"Yeah... Wonder who it is..."

"No telling..."

"Anyway, I have to go. See ya tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

With that, both ponies hung up. Bright Eyes walked back to her father. "Lancer said 'yes'."

"Awesome, now I just need to tell my date.

"Okay."

Circuit went over to the phone and started dialing a number. When he had finished, he took the receiver and placed it by his ear. "Hello?" He waited for a few moments. "Oh, I'm good, how bout you?"

"Well, that's good. Hey, I was talking with Bright Eyes and she mentioned she was going on a date with her boyfriend on Friday, and I was wondering if you'd like to double up with them."

"Nice! Well, guess I'll see you then."

"Okay, bye." Circuit hung up the phone and turned to Bright Eyes. "Welp, looks like we're on for for Friday."

"Great! Can't wait to meet her."

"And she's looking forward to seeing you again."

Bright Eyes gave her father a strange look. "Again?"

"Whoops, shouldn't've said that."

"Okay, who is it?"

"Like I said, it's a surprise."

Bright Eyes sighed, "Okay... I'm gonna go do my homework."

"Okay."

Bright Eyes walked into her room and began working on her homework.

* * *

After a agonizing wait, the big night came, and Bright Eyes was finally going to figure out who this mystery pony is. She was riding in the car going to said mystery mare's house.

Bright Eyes wasn't sure, but this felt a lot like the way to Melody's house. She asked, "Dad, are we going the right way?"

"Yep."

"Okay... It's just that it looks very familiar."

"Ah, very observant you are."

Bright Eyes gave her dad a look. "Are we going to Melody's?"

"We are."

Bright Eyes' eyes widened, "I hope you aren't dating Melody."

Circuit laughed. "No because 1) it is illegal for an adult to date a minor, and 2) she already has a boyfriend. I'm dating her mother."

"Thank good- her mom?"

"Yup."

"But what about her dad, I've seen him around a couple times."

"They got divorced shortly after the twins were born."

"Oh. So he's just here for his visitation rights?"

"Yes."

"Does he know you're dating his ex-wife?"

"Yes, and he looks after their older son."

"Wait, there's another one?"

"Yes, they had him when they were really young, and they got married shortly after. Melody came three years after him. So...try to take it slow with Lancer."

"Don't worry, Dad, I already am."

"Good."

"We're almost there, aren't we?"

"Nope, we are there."

"Oh…" Bright Eyes looked out the window to see Melody's house.

"Yup… Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my date."

"Okay."

Bright Eyes lay in her seat, thinking about the upcoming date. She hoped this wouldn't be a bad idea, but there was no turning back now.

Eventually, her dad and Melody's mom emerged from her home. Circuit opened the passenger door for Melody's mom. She entered and Circuit got in the driver's seat. Melody's mom looked at Bright Eyes, "Hello, Bright Eyes."

"Hello."

"So… I'm guessing this must be awkward...you finding out your dad's dating your friend's mom."

"A little…"

"Yeah… I'd have a hard time dealing with my dad dating my friend's mom, too…"

"But as long as he's happy, I won't say anything."

"That's a mature thing to say." Melody's mom grinned.

"Yep." Circuit concurred.

* * *

Lancer was waiting at the restaurant. He glanced at the clock, then back at the road. He wondered if maybe he had gotten there a little early, he was going to eat at 7, and got there at...6:15.

Okay...maybe a BIT early. Either that or his watch was behind. Just then, he noticed Melody and Resonance walking up to the restaurant. "Hey, guys." Lancer greeted.

"Hey Lancer," Melody greeted, "You remember Resonance, right?"

"How could I forget?"

Resonance chuckled, "Well, I remember you too, Lancer."

"So I'm guessing you two are on a date?" Lancer asked.

"Yup, our second." Melody replied.

"Second already?" Lancer asked surprised. "Bright Eyes and I are on our first."

"First? What have you and Bright Eyes been doing?"

"Taking it slowly, and I guess we timed it just right because we're going to go on a double date with her dad."

Melody gave Lancer a queer look. "Wow... That's a brave thing to do."

"How so?"

"Would you want to take your dad on one of your dates?"

Lancer didn't say anything.

"...Okay, bad example."

"Well, it's nothing ordinary, but at least we'd get some pointers, maybe…"

"Well...I hope my mom's far and away from here."

Just then, they saw the car pulling into the parking lot and looking for a spot to park. "Looks like they're here."

When the car parked, three ponies emerged from the car, Circuit, Bright Eyes, and-

"Mom?!" Melody shrieked.

Lancer was just as shocked, but his first reaction was to look at Bright Eyes, who shrugged at him.

Melody's mom was equally as surprised. It wasn't the fact that Melody was dating Resonance, but the fact that it was at this restaurant. "Well...this is a surprise..."

"Yeah…" Lancer looked at everyone before thinking, 'Awkward…'

* * *

All six ponies sat at one table. Each pony sat next to his or her respective date, with Melody and Bright Eyes sitting next to each other. "This is so embarrassing..." Melody muttered.

"What is?"Wh Bright Eyes whispered.

"The fact that my Mom is crashing my date and dating your dad…"

"But isn't it a good thing that she's dating someone?"

"But does it have to be your dad?"

Bright Eyes frowned. "What's wrong with my dad?"

"Nothing."

"Then why did you say that?"

"It's just...he's YOUR dad."

"Ah. So it's ME you have a problem with?"

"No! It's just he's my friend's dad...and he's dating my mom. It feels real awkward."

"You think I don't feel the same way? But for him, I don't care. If he's happy, I'm happy."

Melody sighed, "I guess."

"Besides, I have wanted a sister."

Melody's eyes widened. "You have?"

"Yeah. Even though, Dad's been good company, it's been pretty lonely. And after my mom… well…"

"I can kinda relate, most of the time it's just me watching the twins, and half the time they don't know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah. Moki was pretty much the closest I ever got to that point, but… Yeah… Had to let her go when our time was up."

"Yeah...guess this won't be so bad, after all...if it works out."

"And if it doesn't, we still have our boys."

Melody thought about it for a minute before saying, "That is true…"

"You have my word." Resonance grinned.

"Mine, too." Lancer grinned sheepishly.

"Awwww..." Bright Eyes cooed. Then, without warning, she kissed Lancer on the cheek.

Lancer immediately blushed as he glanced back at the others. He stole a glance at Circuit, worried he might not approve. Circuit was looking at him, but instead of giving him a mean or disapproving look. Instead, he winked at Lancer, and was smiling. Lancer looked over to Bright Eyes, who was smiling at him. He smiled back, and put his hoof on her own. 'Maybe it will work," he thought.

Melody couldn't keep her eyes off her mother, she felt like if she did anything, her mother would disapprove and keep her from seeing Resonance ever again.

There was no response from her. All she did was talk with Circuit. After all, that was the point of a date, right?

Resonance placed a hoof on Melody's shoulder. "You alright?"

"Uh...yeah...I just need some air…"

"Oh...would you like some company?"

"Um… I would."

Resonance smiled and slid out of the bench seat with Melody following.

Melody's mother noticed her daughter leaving. "Are you feeling okay, Melody?"

"Y-yeah...I just need some air..."

"Okay, just be careful."

"Okay."

The couple went just outside the restaurant. After about a minute, Resonance finally spoke up, "I gotta admit, your mother's boyfriend is handling himself well, but then he did already have experience in that area."

"Don't remind me…" Melody couldn't even face him.

"Well...it's not that bad, is it?"

"Well… It's just… It's so weird that my mom's dating my friend's dad."

"So? Doesn't it matter to you that she's happy?"

"No. I mean yes. I mean." She let out a groan. "I don't know…"

"Well, it looks pretty similar to what happened to us."

"What do you mean?" Melody asked, flatly.

"When both of our bands wouldn't let us see each other because of the competition."

"That's different."

"How so?"

"Well...they're adults, and we're kids...and I am not forbidding them to date."

"But they are happy, right?"

"I guess...but it's just...weird..."

"Hey, one day you'll adjust, right? I mean, that's what our friends did."

"I guess so..."

"Then why don't we just enjoy our date?"

"Let's."

The couple walked back into the restaurant.

* * *

They both returned to their table and saw that their food had arrived. Melody slid into the seat first, followed by Resonance. Melody noticed her dinner mates were already eating, so she dug in as well. She looked over to her mom and noticed that she was laughing at something Circuit said. She seemed to definitely be enjoying herself…

And maybe that was all that mattered...


	9. Model Image

**Model Image**

Heartbeat was going through some designs of the clothes she plans to show off on Saturday. One of the models she had hired called in sick, so she had to figure out which ones she couldn't use. It wasn't easy. In addition, she was not feeling well for some reason. Must've been a stomach bug or something.

Suddenly, Heartbeat heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" She asked.

"Lancer." Her son's voice responded.

"Oh, come in!"

Lancer opened the door and smiled at Heartbeat. "Hey...just thought I'd see how you were doing."

"Well, if I can find a new model, I'll be good at the least."

Lancer raised an eyebrow. "You need a model?"

"Yeah, one of them called in sick, and if I can't find a new line for my autumn line of children's clothes, I'm going to have to leave some of the outfits out."

"Hmm…" Lancer pondered before, "Let me take a look at the designs."

Heartbeat handed the notebook to Lancer.

Lancer looked over them for a bit, before. "Mom? Do you remember my friend Bon Bon?"

She scratched her head. "Which one was that? I'm pretty bad with names."

"The yellow pony that loves baking and fashion."

"Oh...well what about her?"

"Well...She wants to be a model when she grows up...and since you're missing a model...maybe she could replace the sick one?"

"Hm… I guess, but I need to see how she looks before I can decide whether or not to let her into the fashion show."

"Okay. I'll call her right now."

"Okay, thanks." Heartbeat grinned.

Lancer smiled back, before heading out of his parents' room.

* * *

Bon Bon was laying in her bed, reading a romance novel. She was in the middle of reading a very suspenseful chapter when the phone rang. She quickly got up and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bon Bon. It's Lancer."

"Oh hey Lancer. What's up?"

"Remember when I said that Mom was planning on unveiling a new line this Saturday?"

"Yeah?"

"Well one of her models called in sick."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well, you might not be for too long. I told my mom about you, and she'd like to see you."

"Oh. Um… When would she like me to meet her?"

"As soon as possible."

"Okay… I guess I'll see you then."

"Okay, my mom will call you."

"Alright." With that, Bon Bon hung up… Then promptly screamed her head off in excitement.

Bon Bon's mother burst into the room alarmed. "What happened?! Are you hurt?!"

Bon Bon blushed. "Uh...no… A friend of mine told me I might be able to do...something."

"That being?"

"Uh...doing some...modeling work."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Mrs. Heartbeat had one of her models calling in sick, and she needed a replacement."

"I see… I may have to look over these clothes to make sure they're appropriate."

Bon Bon sighed. "Fine…"

* * *

The following day after school, Bon Bon and her mother were walking up to Lancer's mansion. They came to the two large doors and Bon Bon's mother knocked.

After a minute, Hard Drive answered the door. "Yes?"

"Hello." Bon Bon's mother greeted. "My daughter was informed that a Mrs. Heartbeat needed a young model for some work."

"Ah, this must be Bon Bon. Come on in. I'll let my wife know you're here."

Bon Bon and her mother entered the mansion while Hard Drive went upstairs. After some chatter, Heartbeat walked down the stairs, though she already looked exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Bon Bon's mother asked.

"Yeah," Heartbeat said, "Just been pretty busy, plus I seem to be coming down with something. I arranged an appointment for tomorrow before the show."

"Okay. Anyway, this is my daughter, Bon Bon. She'll be your model given she's what you're looking for and the outfits are appropriate."

"Mom…" Bon Bon groaned.

Heartbeat chuckled. "Don't worry, I try to make sure all my clothes are something I would allow my children to wear. If I wouldn't let my children wear it, why make others, right?"

"True."

"But if you have any constructive criticism, let me know."

"Understood."

"Okay then." Heartbeat then proceeded to examine Bon Bon. "Yes… I think you could be what I'm looking for. I just need you to try on some things."

"Let me walk you to the studio and I'll have you try on some things before we give you a walkthrough of what to expe-" Heartbeat held a hoof to her head. "Ow…"

"Are you alright?" Bon Bon's mom asked.

"Yes, I'm alright. Like I said, I plan to go to a doctor tomorrow."

"Okay."

Heartbeat led them into a room that had once served as a bedroom, but was turned into Heartbeat's design room. "Now… Which one to try first…" She looked over a rack of clothes before finally picking a modest outfit. "Try this on..." Heartbeat handed the clothes to Bon Bon. "You can change in the dressing room over there." Heartbeat pointed to a white door at the opposite end of the room.

Bon Bon went over to the room, and in a few moments came out with the clothes on. Heartbeat looked Bon Bon over. "Hmm…" She continued to examine Bon Bon, then she looked to the girl's mother. "Is this modest enough, Mrs…?"

"Lemon Drop...And yes… For the most part."

Heartbeat raised an eyebrow. "What would you change?"

"Well... I think the skirt could be a few inches longer. The necklace, however, is too small. It could choke her."

"I see...but I'd be afraid if it were any longer she'd trip over it...but I see what you mean about the necklace…"

"Yes, so just a few more beads should help."

"Okay." Heartbeat immediately wrote a note on her notepad. "Anything else?"

"No...I think that's it."

"Okay… Let me get something else…" Heartbeat went over to the rack of clothes and pulled off a dress and gave it to Bon Bon.

Bon Bon took the dress and went back to the dressing room.

Lemon Drop looked over at Heartbeat. "So you're Lancer's mother, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"And is he your only child?"

"Yes, never really found the time to have another child yet."

"Ah… But would you if you did?"

"I would."

"I see…"

"Is Bon Bon your only child?"

"Oh no, I have five other kids."

Heartbeat's eyes widened. "Well… I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little jealous…"

"That's a first."

"What do you mean?"

"There are some parents who think I have too many. One even asked if I was on welfare."

"Really?"

"Yes. I mean how inconsiderate is that? My husband and I both work hard, and we both make a decent amount of money."

"Well… Some ponies just think there are more important things than children...I'm not one of those ponies though."

"Good. I could use a break. Besides, my oldest will be going to college soon."

"Oh really?"

"She'll be studying fine arts."

"Interesting, has she found a school?"

"She has."

"What school?"

"The Ponyland Art Institute."

"Ah...I've heard that's a good school."

"That's what I heard too."

Bon Bon walks out of the dressing room in a different outfit. This one was more of a formal design; something more appropriate for church.

"No changes needed on this one," Lemon Drop declared, "She looks fine."

"Glad to hear it. Now we need to slip you into one more outfit, and there is one more outfit that you should wear in the show. One warning though, there is a zipper that you might have trouble with."

"Okay."

Heartbeat gets up to grab the outfit, but her knees had it! Before she knew it, she found herself laying on the floor with a frantic mother and daughter running toward her. Lemon Drop looked to her daughter. "Bon Bon, get Lancer's father now!"

Bon Bon nodded and ran out of the design studio. Seconds later, Lancer walks in to find his mother on the floor. "Mom," he yelled as he ran up to her. "What happened?!"

"I think she fainted, she mentioned she was sick earlier but this is serious. We need to call an ambulance."

"I'm on it." Lancer immediately took the phone and dialed "911."

* * *

Lancer was pacing outside Heartbeat's her hospital room. It felt like an hour from the time she was admitted into the clinic to this point. Hard Drive had gone into the room a while ago, but he never came out.

Bon Bon was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, almost as nervous as Lancer. She took off the outfit while waiting for the ambulance thinking that it would be a good idea not to reveal one of her outfits before the show. "Lancer?"

Lancer looked at her. "Yes?"

"I'm...sorry."

"It's not your fault..."

"I guess...it just felt like the right thing to say, though."

"Just don't worry about it. I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, why wouldn't she be?" Lancer was feeling even more nervous.

Bon Bon stood up and placed a hoof on Lancer's shoulder. "She'll be okay."

"I hope you're right."

As if on cue, Sweetheart, Teddy, Fare, Ace, Starlight, and Bright Eyes entered the hallway. Bright Eyes put her forelegs around Lancer in a hug. "Lancer! How's your mom doing?"

"I don't know. She's been in there a long time."

Bright Eyes bit her lip. "What happened? All I heard was that she fainted."

"Bon Bon might be able to explain it better than I can."

Bon Bon cleared her throat. "W-well...I was trying on some clothes for Lancer's mom...and when I came back...she was on the floor."

"Oh… I bet that was terrifying."

"More than you know."

"It still is." Lancer pointed out, "and I walked in after the fact."

"I really, truly hope she gets better, Lancer." Sweetheart attempted to comfort her friend.

"Me too..." Teddy half grinned.

Lancer looked over at Flare. She was obviously scared, and Scout's nuzzles were hardly helping. He put a hoof on her shoulder. She gasped at his touch, but relaxed once she realized who it was. "Flare? Are you okay?"

Flare simply nodded.

"Just don't worry about it. Hopefully, she'll be out any minute now."

"Do you know how long has it been?" Starlight asked.

"Too long," Bon Bon said.

"That's how it felt when my dad broke one of his legs," Ace finally said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What?"

"You never told us that," Lancer said.

"Oh… I kinda like to forget about it..."

"Just like I would like to forget about this…"

Hard Drive poked his head out of the room. "Lancer," he said, "Your mother and I need to discuss what the doctor found."

"Oh. Okay." He walked in.

Now it was Bright Eyes's turn to feel uneasy. "It's going to happen again. I know it."

Everyone looked at her. "What do you mean?" Bon Bon asked.

"The doctors are going to say that she has cancer and it'll be possible that she could die."

Lancer grew pale after hearing her from inside the room. 'Please don't say that...please?'

* * *

Tonight is the night of the show. Heartbeat was doing some last-minute preparations for all of the models keeping a cheerful face. Actually, she was so happy that she was practically glowing. Only Lancer, Bon Bon, and Hard Drive know why, but it was a complete mystery to everyone else, especially since Bright Eyes was thoroughly convinced that Heartbeat was going to share her mother's fate.

Finally, Heartbeat walked onto the stage and up to the microphone. "Good evening every pony. Thank you all for coming. Before we begin, a lot of you have heard about what happened yesterday, but I want to put everypony's minds at ease by saying that it is nothing deadly." She signaled for Lancer and Hard Drive to walk onto the stage next to her. "About a few weeks ago, my husband, son, and I have begun spending more time as a family, and I was excited to learn yesterday that we will be adding another pony to our family in a few months."

The crowd erupted into a cheerful applause. After hearing the news, Bright Eyes tried to resist the urge to run onto the stage and hug Lancer on the spot. The fact of the matter was that Lancer will be able to be with his mother a little longer and have someone else to share that joy with.

"I will, however, be taking a break from making the actual dresses. I will still be sketching ideas when the inspiration comes, but I do need to take a break from actually creating the dresses until I can adjust to raising my new baby. Until then, here is something for you to enjoy for this season and possibly generations to come."

With that, the Lancer and Hard Drive stepped off of the stage while Heartbeat stood on the side where she could be seen, yet out of the way of the models about to walk out toward the audience. The first model on stage was Bon Bon. As Bon Bon showed off the dress, Heartbeat commented, "Our first model, Bon Bon, is wearing a cute, yet stylish dress perfect for a walk around the park or even a bold first day back in school. One favorite childhood activity of mine is to be able to jump in the leaves, but the only problem is that smaller pieces catch onto clothes and become a pain to remove. Thanks to technology, we can now knit this entire line in a way where they can be resistant to leaves yet comfortable to the wearer."

However, Heartbeat's words faded from Bon Bon's ears. All she did notice was the applause of the audience, her friends, and her family. For once in her life, she was living the dream.

* * *

Once the show ended, Bright Eyes walked over to Lancer. "Well...that worked out..." She smiled.

"Yep," Lancer sighed, "but I'm still nervous."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if my parents stop paying attention to me because of the baby, or what if I turn out to be a terrible big brother?"

"Well...they may need to give the foal a little more attention, but they'll still love you just as much. As far as your being a good big brother, I've seen the way you treated Flare, Bon Bon, and Sweetheart. I'd say you're ready for this."

Lancer blushed. "You really think so?"

"I know for a fact that you are."

"Thanks..." Lancer smiled.

"No problem." Bright Eyes smiled back.

Heartbeat walked up to Lancer. "It's time to go," she said.

Lancer looked at his mother and nodded.

Heartbeat looked at Bright Eyes. "I understand that you feared that I had cancer."

Bright Eyes sighed, "Yes ma'am, I did."

"What would give you that idea?"

"Because that was exactly how I lost my mother. My parents told me about it in private before she died months later."

"Oh. Well don't worry, I won't be leaving until both of my kids are ready to leave."

Hard Drive came over and kissed Heartbeat's cheek while putting a hoof on her ribs. "Ditto for me."

"Well, I guess I better be going," Bright Eyes said, "my dad would kill me if I'm late again."

"Okay," Hard Drive said, "Do you want us to drive you home?"

"No, I need to walk more often. Besides, I think you three need the night alone after receiving news as exciting as this."

"Okay, take care."

"You too. If you need anything, let me know."

"We will," Heartbeat said, "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Do you think you'd be able to handle babysitting?"

"Well, I don't really have any prior experience, but I can work on that. Just need to find a few babysitting jobs."

"Well...just so you know, we may need your services in about nine months."

"Okay. I should be more experienced by then."

Heartbeat nodded with a smile.

With that, Bright Eyes started her trek home anticipating what would happen in the distant future.


	10. No Service (Dog)

**No Service (Dog)**

Flare was sitting in the living room with Scout. Flare was watching a children's show, while Scout sat next to her. About halfway into the episode, Teddy walked in. "Hey Flare." Teddy greeted.

Flare jumped with a yelp before looking at her brother. Once she realized who it was, she said, "Hey Teddy."

"Sorry I scared you..." Teddy apologized.

"It's okay."

Both ponies remained silent. Eventually, Teddy remembered, "Oh, Sweetheart called and asked me to ask you if you wanna go with her and her friends for lunch."

"Oh. Um… Well… Okay."

"You can say 'no' if you don't want to...I just thought you might enjoy it."

"Well, they've been nothing but nice to me. I'd love to."

"Okay, I'll go call Sweetheart back, she'll be really, truly-" Teddy caught himself, "She'll be happy you're going..." With that, Teddy headed back to his room and Flare returned to her TV show.

* * *

Later that afternoon, all eight girls and Scout were on their way to a restaurant. Said restaurant had been recommended to Bright Eyes by Lancer, but Bright Eyes had that gut feeling that something was going to go wrong.

"So what's this place called?" Bon Bon asked.

"The Golden Dragon I believe," Bright Eyes answered.

"Ah...sounds fancy."

"That's what I heard."

"I really, truly hope we brought enough money." Sweetheart worried.

"Well, I asked Lancer how much it cost and I brought enough for me, Flare, tax, and some extra just in case."

"Okay."

Soon, the girls made it to the restaurant. It was a very elaborate building, with several Chinese designs, and a huge, golden dragon hanging overhead. Flare saw the dragon, and began to feel a bit nervous.

Bright Eyes noticed this and said, "Don't worry, the dragon's not real; it's just there for decoration."

"Oh."

The group had only taken a few steps into the restaurant when a pony stormed up to them and yelled, "Get out!"

Everyone, especially Flare, was startled by the outburst. Bright Eyes looked at the pony and said, "Excuse me?"

"You can't come in with that mutt here!"

Everyone looked at Scout, who tilted his head, before looking back at the pony. Bright Eyes protested, "Scout is a service dog, and he is required by law to be allowed into any public place."

"I don't care what he is! Get out!"

Bright Eyes glared at him. "I want to see the manager."

"I am the manager."

Bright Eyes sighed, then turned to the girls. "Let's go everypony, someone OBVIOUSLY doesn't want our business."

The eight girls nodded, and headed outside. Once they were out, Melody looked to Bright Eyes, "That was illegal, right?"

"Yes, and I am going to report him later."

"Hmm...okay...and I think I'm gonna do somethin', too..."

"What did you have in mind?" Bright Eyes asked.

"I'll tell ya later..."

"Okay. Should we meet you at Hayburger Queen?"

"Sure." With that, Melody galloped off.

"Is that okay with you, Flare?" Bright Eyes asked.

Flare nodded, "If they let Scout in."

"Okay."

* * *

As the girls were halfway through eating their sandwiches, Melody burst into the restaurant. She looked for the girls for a few moments, and upon finding them, she ran over. "Hey girls." She greeted.

"Hey Melody," Bright Eyes greeted back.

"THERE you are! What took so long?" Patch asked.

"Well… Do you guys ever watch the news?"

"Why?" Bon Bon asked.

"Well...just watch channel ten tonight at seven… Trust me."

"Um...okay… But can't you give us a clue?"

"Nope."

"Please…"

"Sorry, I just don't wanna ruin the surprise."

"Okay… Well on that weird note, what do you want to eat?"

"Oh, just a hayburger and a really big drink. I'll go get it." Melody got up and went over to the counter and began ordering her food.

Flare, meanwhile, looked at Scout with a worried expression. Bright Eyes noticed this and put a hoof on Flare's shoulder. "Flare? Are you okay?"

Flare looked at Bright Eyes. "Yes, I'm fine," she lied hoping not to worry the older girl.

Bright Eyes looked skeptical, "You don't seem very fine."

"Well… Has something like this happened before? Not letting in a service dog?"

Bright Eyes sighed, "Sadly, it happens every day."

"Oh… I wish it didn't...Scout's such a good boy."

"I know, but at some point, I will try to seek legal action."

"You're not gonna need legal action, Bright Eyes." Melody said, placing her meal on the table, "Trust me."

Bright Eyes raised an eyebrow. "Melody… What did you do?"

"You'll see."

"Melody, you better not have gone back to the restaurant and done… something."

"Hey! I wouldn't do anything like that...Patch might, though."

"Hey!" Patch snapped back.

Flare was trying so hard not to laugh, but she couldn't hold it any longer and burst into a joyous fit of giggles.

The other girls saw this and soon began to laugh right along with her. Eventually, everyone settled down. But when they had finished, they noticed that Sweetheart was gone. "That's funny," Clover thought aloud, "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know. Maybe she went to the bathroom," Bon Bon suggested.

"Maybe…"

"I'll go check on her," Starlight volunteered.

"Okay."

Starlight got up and started searching for Sweetheart.

* * *

Teddy just got off of the phone with Ace, but before he put the phone back, it rang again. Teddy glanced at the phone with a questioning expression on his face. He picked it up and greeted, "Hello?"

"Hey Teddy," Sweetheart greeted back.

"Oh, hey, Sweetheart. Are you doing okay? You've been gone a while."

"Well, the first restaurant wouldn't let us in because of Scout."

Teddy frowned, "But Bright Eyes said service dogs were allowed in restaurants."

"They really, truly are, so the restaurant pretty much broke the law by not allowing Scout."

Teddy sighed, "Please tell me Patch vandalized the place?"

"No… But Bright Eyes was really, truly angry, and Melody did...something. We don't know what."

"I hope she's planning to TP the restaurant…"

"Teddy…" Sweetheart said in an irritated tone.

"Sorry...but that's how I feel…"

"Anyway, we eventually started laughing and Flare really, truly laughed."

"Flare laughed?" Teddy almost dropped the receiver.

"Uh-huh...I thought you'd wanna know."

"Yeah… Wow… Kinda makes me wish I was there just to hear it."

"She has a beautiful laugh… Like her big brother."

"Well, I wouldn't say beautiful… Awesome would be better."

Sweetheart giggled.

"That's even more awesome." Teddy grinned.

"Teddy…" Sweetheart was glad Teddy couldn't see her burning cheeks. However…

"Sweetheart?" Starlight asked from behind.

This surprised Sweetheart. She went to Teddy, "Uh...I'll talk to you later."

"Okay...see ya." Teddy hung up.

Sweetheart turned to face Starlight. "Oh...hello Starlight."

"Who were you calling?"

"Oh. Um... Teddy."

"Oh... What did you tell him?"

"I just told him about what happened with Scout but I did tell him about Flare laughing when we were joking around."

"Oh... I guess he was pretty ticked about the other thing, huh?"

Sweetheart merely nodded. "But he cheered up when he heard that Flare laughed."

"That's good. So...I think we're about ready to go, are you ready?"

"I am. But I can walk Flare home, if that's okay."

"Um...we can talk to the others about it."

"We can."

* * *

Night had come over Ponyland, and all the girls, Lancer, Flare, Scout, and eddy were gathered around Clover's television set. It was 6:59 and approximately one minute from...something on the news… No one but Melody knew...

While they were waiting, Bright Eyes filled Lancer in on everything that had happened. "Wow, and I recommended that place to you?"

"Yeah...but you didn't know they'd kick specialty dogs out," Bright Eyes pointed out.

""Well I do now, and I don't think they'll be making any more money off of me."

"That's good."

"Guys! It's starting," Melody called out.

Bright Eyes and Lancer rushed over to the TV and sat next to Bon Bon.

The television cut to Dazzle at the desk .She said through the television, "Our top story comes from the Golden Dragon, who has committed one of the biggest no-noes possible. It all started when a group of friends stopped by to get a bite to eat, but we're turned away because one of those friends had a service dog."

The television then cut to a very familiar scene. It showed the manager yelling at Bright Eyes to get out.

Almost everyone there looked at Melody. "How'd you get that?" Bright Eyes asked.

"Well, I had brought my video camera with me for a music video Resonance and I were gonna do, figured it'd be a good idea."

Bright Eyes mouthed "Oh", and went back to watching the report.

"This scene was caught on camera by one of the friends who was just as shocked as the rest of them." An image of Flare popped up. "If this girl looks familiar to you, she was the girl reported previously that had been missing for several years, and returned to her family two weeks ago.

She suffers from PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, which makes her eligible for a service dog, which is required by law to be allowed into all public places."

The television cut back to Dazzle. "But the big question is this: does this pony still have a job. We spoke with the owner and he said that he was shocked to see the video. He said, 'We take any allegations of discrimination seriously, especially when it is against the disabled. Not only will additional training be required for all of the staff members, but the accused will be terminated.' In other news..."

Clover turned off the television set.

"Maybe I was a little hasty in saying they wouldn't get my business." Lancer thought aloud.

"Yeah, at least someone recognized his mistake," Bright Eyes noted.

"Well, I guess that's that, huh?" Melody asked.

"Well...except Flare still has her PTSD." Bright Eyes pointed out.

"Oh yeah, but still."

Melody looked over at Teddy, "Well…"

Teddy sighed, "Alright, thanks."

"You're welcome," Melody replied.


End file.
